❖ Khulʿ With Equal or Lesser Wealth Than the Mahr – Prohibition of Demanding More
Written by: ʿImrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❀ Evidences from Sunnah
➊ Case of Thābit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه
His wife came to the Prophet ﷺ and said:
"O Messenger of Allah! I do not criticize Thābit ibn Qays in his character or religion, but I dislike disbelief in Islam (i.e., being ungrateful as a wife)."
The Prophet ﷺ asked:
أتر دين عليه حديقته
"Will you return his garden to him?"
She said: Yes. Then the Prophet ﷺ said:
اقبل الحديقة وطلقها تطليقة
"O Thābit! Take back your garden and divorce her with one divorce."
[Bukhārī: 5273, Kitāb al-Ṭalāq; Nasāʾī 6/169; Ibn Mājah 2056; Dāraquṭnī 4/46; Bayhaqī 7/313]
Another narration in Bukhārī states:
وأمره أن يطلقها
"When she returned the garden, the Prophet ﷺ instructed him to divorce her."
[Bukhārī: 5274]
➋ In another authentic narration:
فأمره رسول الله أن يأخذ منها حديقته ولا يزداد
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded him to take back his garden and not to take anything more."
[Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 1673; Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 2036]
➌ In one report, when the wife expressed readiness to give more, the Prophet ﷺ said:
أما الزيادة فلا
"As for giving more, do not."
But Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله declared this narration mursal (weak).
[Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 7/104; Dāraquṭnī 3/255]
➍ ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه said:
"The husband should not take more than what he had given her."
[ʿAbd al-Razzāq 11844]
From this it is clear that the husband is not allowed to demand more than what he initially gave as mahr.
❀ Scholarly Opinions
- Imām Aḥmad رحمه الله: A husband cannot demand more. Same view is held by Imām Isḥāq, Imām Shaʿbī, Imām al-Zuhrī, Imām al-Ḥasan, Imām ʿAṭāʾ, Imām Ṭāwūs.
- Majority (Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, Abū Ḥanīfah): If aversion originates from the wife, then the husband may take more, citing the generality of the verse:
فِيمَا افْتَدَتْ بِهِ [al-Baqarah: 229]
But this generality is restricted by the ḥadīth of Thābit: "ولا يزداد" ("and do not take more"). - Ibn Qudāmah رحمه الله: It is makrūh (disliked) for the husband to take more than he gave, though the khulʿ remains valid. Even if khulʿ happens without compensation, it is valid, as the purpose is mutual agreement.
[al-Mughnī 10/269–287; Nayl al-Awṭār 4/346; Tafsīr al-Lubāb 4/142]
❀ Stronger Opinion (Rājiḥ)
The husband cannot demand more than the mahr he gave, as clearly established by the Prophet ﷺ’s words:
ولا يزداد – "And do not take more."
However, if the wife willingly offers something extra (e.g., car, house, or gifts), it is permissible, since there is no prohibition in Sharīʿah against a voluntary offering.
The narration أما الزيادة فلا is weak, so it cannot be taken as an absolute bar.
