Mahr

Mahr (erogatio propter nuptiae in Latin law) is often mistranslated into English (as in the Quran translations below), from a translator's lack of knowledge of the true meaning of the word dowry, or is mistranslated into the word gift. The mahr is not a gift, but a mandatory requirement for all Muslim marriages.

The terms "dowry" and "bride price" are sometimes used to translate mahr, but these are misleading. There is no concept of dowry in Islam. The term dowry (Latin, dos dotis) is inaccurate, as strictly speaking it is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage, usually provided by her parents or family. In Islamic marriages, such assets brought into the union by the wife may only be accepted by the husband after the mahr has been paid by him to her.

In the event the marriage contract does not contain an exact, specified mahr, the husband must still pay the wife a judicially determined sum, typically based on the mahr amount that women of equivalent social status receive. The requirement of a mahr is mentioned several times in the Quran and Hadith and although there is no maximum limit, it is at a minimum an amount that would be sufficient for the woman to be able to survive for a while if her husband dies or they divorce.

The mahr may also be paid to the bride in parts with prior mutual agreement. In such an agreement, an amount is given by the groom to the bride at the signing of the marriage contract, also called a mu'qadamm (in Arabic: ‎; مقدم, literally translated as forepart presented), and the latter portion postponed to a date during the marriage, also called a mu'akhaar ( in Arabic: ‎ مؤخر, literally translated as delayed), with various Romanized transliterations of mu'qadamm and mu'akhaar accepted. Such an agreement does not make the full amount of the mahr any less legally required, nor is the husband's obligation to fulfill the agreement waived. To note, the husband's fulfillment of the mahr is not remove or lessened as he fulfills his obligations to reasonably house, feed, or cloth the wife and any children produced from the union during the marriage.