Is it permissible for a woman to request a dowry other than money and gold, such as a full-time maid, and is it permissible for her to waive a portion of her dowry?

The dowry (Sadaq) is obligatory in marriage, based on the Almighty's saying: "And give the women (whom you marry) their dowries with a good heart" (Quran 4:4), and the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "Go and seek, even if it is a ring of iron." It is desirable to make the dowry easy.

The forms of dowry vary according to customs (money, gold, furniture), and there is no harm in that as long as there is mutual consent.

The dowry may be a usufruct, such as a woman stipulating that her husband provide a maid as a dowry. She may be content with it alone or request something else with it.

The dowry is a right for the woman, based on the Almighty's saying: "And give the women (whom you marry) their dowries with a good heart." She has the right to relinquish it, or part of it, after the marriage contract if she is of sound mind, based on the Almighty's saying: "Unless they [themselves] excuse it," and "But if they, of their own accord, remit to you a portion of it, then consume it with pleasure and ease." It is preferable that she does not do so except with the consultation of her family to avoid dispute.