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Mahr al-Mithl (Arabic: مَهرُ الْمِثل, lit. equivalent dower) is a Mahr determined after a marriage in which no Mahr was specified in the formula (ṣigha) and the couple has had intercourse. Mahr al-Mithl is specific to permanent marriage, and there is no Mahr al-Mithl in temporary marriage; if Mahr is not specified in the formula of a temporary marriage, the marriage is void.

According to the fatwa of jurists, to determine the Mahr al-Mithl for a woman, one should look at women of similar status to her and determine the Mahr based on criteria such as age, beauty, virginity, and family status.

According to a legal opinion (fatwa) issued by Nasir Makarim Shirazi, a prominent Shi'a legal authority (marja'), excessively unconventional marriage dowries are considered legally invalid. In such cases, the specified dowry is replaced with Mahr al-Mithl, meaning a dowry determined in accordance with what is customary for a woman of similar social status.

Concept

"Mahr al-Mithl" refers to a Mahr that is determined after marriage. Such a Mahr arises when a man and a woman have entered into a permanent marriage contract and intercourse has taken place, but no Mahr was specified in the marriage formula.[1]

How is Mahr al-Mithl Determined?

According to the fatwa of jurists, to determine the Mahr al-Mithl of a woman, the Mahr of women of similar status or her peers is considered.[2] Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi, a Shi'a jurist, says that in determining Mahr al-Mithl, criteria such as family status, beauty, age, virginity, wealth, and any other characteristic that differentiates a woman's status should be taken into account.[3]

In What Cases Should Mahr al-Mithl Be Determined?

According to the fatwas of jurists, Mahr al-Mithl is due to the woman in the following cases:

  • In a permanent marriage, when Mahr has not been specified and intercourse has taken place.[4] There is no Mahr al-Mithl in temporary marriage, and if Mahr is not specified in the marriage formula, the contract is void.[5]
  • In case of Wat' bi-l-Shubha (intercourse by mistake),[6] provided that the mistake occurred for both parties or for the woman alone; however, if the woman was aware of the prohibition of intercourse, Mahr al-Mithl is not due to her.[7]
  • If the Mahr is ambiguous and unspecified. For example, if the Mahr is the teaching of one of the Suras of the Qur'an without specifying which Sura, the Mahr is void, and if intercourse has occurred, Mahr al-Mithl is incumbent upon the man.[8]
  • If a man becomes an apostate and does not know that he has no right to have intercourse with his wife and does so, jurists such as al-Shaykh al-Tusi have said that this man must pay Mahr al-Mithl in addition to Mahr al-Musamma (the Mahr specified at the time of the contract).[9]
  • If the couple becomes Muslim or the man alone becomes Muslim, some jurists believe that their marriage is annulled, and if intercourse has taken place, Mahr al-Mithl is due to the woman.[10]
  • Nasir Makarim Shirazi, one of the Shi'a Marja's, believes that unconventional Mahrs, such as are void and are converted to Mahr al-Mithl.[11]

See Also

Notes

  1. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Kitāb al-nikāḥ, 1382 Sh, vol. 6, p. 39.
  2. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Kitāb al-nikāḥ, 1382 Sh, vol. 6, p. 42.
  3. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, Beirut, vol. 31, p. 52.
  4. ↑ Shubayrī Zanjānī, Kitāb al-nikāḥ, Muʾassisa Rāypardāz, vol. 9, p. 3111.
  5. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Kitāb al-nikāḥ, 1382 Sh, vol. 1, p. 137.
  6. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, Al-ʿUrwa al-wuthqā, 1409 AH, vol. 2, p. 808; Shubayrī Zanjānī, Kitāb al-nikāḥ, Muʾassisa Rāypardāz, vol. 4, p. 1258.
  7. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, Beirut, vol. 32, pp. 378-379.
  8. ↑ Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, 1408 AH, vol. 2, p. 269.
  9. ↑ Shubayrī Zanjānī, Kitāb al-nikāḥ, Muʾassisa Rāypardāz, vol. 17, p. 5600.
  10. ↑ Shahīd al-Thānī, Masālik al-afhām, 1425 AH, vol. 8, p. 162.
  11. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Kitāb al-nikāḥ, 1382 Sh, vol. 1, p. 20.

References

  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Kitāb al-nikāḥ. Qom, Madrasat al-Imām Amīr al-Muʾminīn, 1382 Sh.
  • Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, Jaʿfar b. Ḥasan. Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām fī masāʾil al-ḥalāl wa l-ḥarām. Qom, Muʾassisa Maṭbūʿātī Ismāʿīliyān, 2nd ed., 1408 AH.
  • Mudarrisī, Sayyid Muḥammad Taqī. Aḥkām-i khānavāda wa ādāb-i izdivāj. Qom, Intishārāt-i Muḥibbān al-Ḥusayn, 5th ed., 1388 Sh.
  • Najafī, Muḥammad Ḥasan. Jawāhir al-kalām fī sharḥ sharāʾiʿ al-Islām. Edited by Maḥmūd Qūchānī. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 7th ed., n.d.
  • Shahīd al-Thānī, Zayn al-Dīn b. ʿAlī. Masālik al-afhām ilā tanqīḥ sharāʾiʿ al-Islām. Qom, Muʾassisa al-Maʿārif al-Islāmiyya, 3rd ed., 1425 AH.
  • Shubayrī Zanjānī, Sayyid Mūsā. Kitāb al-nikāḥ. Qom, Muʾassisa Rāypardāz, n.d.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, Sayyid Muḥammad Kāẓim. Al-ʿUrwa al-wuthqā. Beirut, Muʾassisa al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 2nd ed., 1409 AH.
  • Hāshimī Shāhrūdī, Sayyid Maḥmūd. Farhang-i fiqh muṭābiq-i madhhab-i Ahl-i Bayt (a). Qom, Muʾassisa Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif Fiqh Islāmī, 3rd ed., 1390 Sh.
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