Is the groom, who divorced his wife after the marriage contract but before consummation, entitled to pay half the Mahr, deducted by what he spent on the contract ceremony?
If a man divorces his wife before consummating the marriage, she is entitled to half of the agreed-upon Mahr (dower), based on the Almighty's saying: (And if you divorce them before you have touched them, and you have already specified for them an obligation [Mahr] - then for them is half of what you specified, unless they [the women] give up [their right], or he in whose hand is the marriage contract gives up [his right]). The wedding banquet () is incumbent upon the husband. If the expenses for the marriage contract celebration and the Walimah (one thousand) were taken from the upfront Mahr (five thousand), there are two possibilities:
1. The cost is not included in the Mahr; thus, the upfront Mahr is four thousand and the deferred Mahr is five thousand, totaling nine thousand, and half of that is four thousand five hundred. 2. The upfront Mahr is five thousand, and the wife voluntarily contributed the cost from it. In the event of divorce, she is entitled to half of the full Mahr (five thousand), and she has the right to retract her donation of the one thousand because it was not a pure gift.
The second possibility is the most probable and closer to reality.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- 6103
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- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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