Am I entitled to half of the property and the dowry after the annulment of the marriage contract, given that the annulment was at my family's request after he divorced me?
Upon the mere conclusion of the marriage contract, a woman is entitled to half of the stipulated mahr (dowry), or a reasonable compensation (mut'ah) if no mahr was specified for her, based on Allah's saying: "{There is no blame upon you if you divorce women before you have touched them or specified for them an obligatory payment. But provide for them a fair provision – upon the wealthy according to his means, and upon the poor according to his means – a provision of fairness, a duty upon the doers of good. And if you divorce them before you have touched them but you have already specified for them an obligatory payment, then give half of what you specified, unless they [the women] forgo it or he in whose hand is the marriage contract forgoes it. And to forgo it is closer to righteousness. And do not forget graciousness among yourselves. Indeed, Allah is Seeing of what you do.}" Complete mahr becomes due to her upon consummation or valid privacy (khulwa sahihah).
Thus, if half of the gold was the mahr, then half of it is the wife's right. However, if the guardian requested divorce in exchange for compensation, this is a khul‘ (dissolution of marriage initiated by the wife) which grants the husband the right to compensation, based on Allah's saying: "{And it is not lawful for you to take anything of what you have given them, unless both fear that they will not be able to uphold the limits of Allah. But if you fear that they will not be able to uphold the limits of Allah, then there is no blame upon either of them concerning that by which she ransoms herself.}"
Scholars differed regarding the permissibility for a father to initiate khul‘ for his daughter using her own money without her consent. The majority of scholars hold that the divorce is valid, and the wife can seek her money back from the husband. In contrast, the Malikis are of the opinion that an imposing father (al-ab al-mujbir) can initiate khul‘ for his imposed-upon daughter (al-ibnah al-mujbarah) using her money, and therefore, the wife cannot claim anything back from her husband. It is advisable to avoid stirring up the matter and to accept Allah's decree, especially given that the husband was consuming alcohol.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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