In Islam, a mahr (in Arabic: مهر; Persian: مهريه; Turkish: mehir; Swahili: mahari; Indonesian: mahar; also transliterated mehr, meher, mehrieh, or mahriyeh) is the bride wealth obligation, in the form of money, possessions or teaching of verses from the Quran[1] by the groom, to the bride in connection with an Islamic wedding.
[2] While the mahr is often money, it can also be anything agreed upon by the bride such as jewelry, home goods, furniture, a dwelling or some land.
[7] There are differences between the nature of mahr, definition of proper contract and conditions of enforceability depending on the regional fiqh and school of Islamic jurisprudence.
[2] Among pre-Islamic Arabs, a bride price called Mahr was an essential condition for a legal marriage.
[2] A few others regard its transformation into wife's property as a "revolutionary" Quranic innovation,[9] however, this is pre-dated by a similar historical transition of the equivalent Jewish “mohar.” In the book of Deuteronomy of the Hebrew Bible, a betrothed couple became accountable to the law against adultery, a concept known as erusin, violation of which was also punishable by death though not fully considering them as married.
[12] Gradually, as in Islam, it lost its original meaning, and the custom arose of giving the mohar entirely to the bride rather than her father.
The second part of the mahr, called the mu'akhar, is a deferred and promised amount, payable at any agreed upon date following the consummation of the marriage.
In theory, the deferred amount is supposed to provide the wife with a means of support, and is associated with the death or divorce of the husband, however this is a more traditional rather than Islamic stance on the matter.
The mu'akhar should be viewed as importantly as the initial dower payment as it is an obligation to be fulfilled by the husband and is considered debt if it is not given to the wife within the timeframe agreed upon between the couple.
[8] In Islamic marriages, 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.
[citation needed] In Arabian world, there are varying interpretations of mahr containing marriage contracts, highlighting the differences between Maliki, Hanbali, Hanafi, Shafi, and Jafari schools of Islamic jurisprudence.
[15] Mahr is similar in legal enforceability to donatio propter nuptias of Eastern Roman law, except some critical differences.
[16] Donatio propter nuptias was optional and voluntary, while mahr is mandatory and required for all Muslim marriages.
Divorcing Muslim women who did not work outside their home after marriage, except for the deferred mahr, are left with little or no claim on the collective wealth of the couple.
"[27] According to Islamic teachings in the hadith (sayings of Muhammad), mahr is the amount to be paid by the groom to the bride at the time of marriage, some of which may be delayed according to what is agreed upon by the spouses.