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What is mahr? What are its types?

Mahr (dower) is an obligation arising from the marriage contract. We explain prompt, deferred and specified mahr with sources.

Mahr is a payment (money or property) that, under Islamic practice, the husband owes to his wife as an obligation arising from the marriage contract. A woman is entitled to mahr even if an amount is not specified at the time of the contract.

Types of mahr

Prompt mahr (muʿajjal)
Paid immediately — delivered at the time of the marriage.
Deferred mahr (muʾajjal)
Postponed — paid on an agreed date; if no date is set, it becomes due when the marriage ends.
Specified mahr (musammā)
An amount fixed at the time of the contract.
Proper mahr (mithl)
If no amount is specified, the mahr customary for women of comparable status applies.

Why put it in writing?

A verbal agreement may be remembered differently later. A written record helps both parties see what they agreed on. mahr processes contents on the server, offers encrypted storage choices and records the PDF hash for file comparison. The record uses server time; a qualified timestamp is not provided.

Frequently asked questions

Under the cited guidance, the wife is entitled to mahr even if it is not specified at the contract.

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