Author: Doctor Hafiz Mudassir Iqbal Tamman (Facebook)
Translation: Admin (Tamman.pk)
Allah Almighty says:
"And when He prepared their equipment"
Translation: And when He prepared their equipment. (Surah Yusuf)
The word dowry is derived from the Arabic word "jhaz" and its origin is "tajheez". Burial of the dead is called tajheez and takfeen, in which tajheez is derived from the word dowry. Since the dead are helpless and helpless, they need a shroud for burial. Therefore, some items given to the dead, which include a shroud, perfume, camphor, etc., are called tajheez. (Dowry is a custom of the couple)
In our society, dowry refers to the material belongings that are given to the bride on the occasion of marriage. This is an ancient custom and each country and region has its own specific forms in this regard. Generally, dowry consists of jewelry, cash, furniture, papers, utensils and other items. (Urdu Encyclopedia)
This custom among the Salmanas certainly came from the Hindus because according to their ancient law, the Hindus did not give their daughters a share in the inheritance. To compensate for this, it became a custom to give the girl as much as possible on the occasion of marriage. Therefore, they started giving the daughter a maximum share of their wealth in the name of dowry. (Khatun Islam)
Dowry plays an important role in social life. The origin of this is that parents give it to their daughter on the occasion of her marriage out of love and kinship so that she remembers this gift from her parents when she moves to a new home. This dowry item reminds her of her parents' love and also makes it easier for her to build a new home. However, in different societies, there has been a tendency to exaggerate and overestimate the amount of dowry at different times. In some places, dowry has been considered a curse, while in others, rich parents consider it a means of increasing their honor and reputation and consider it a source of pride to give more dowry. As a result, poor and middle-class people go into debt to give more dowry, commit extravagance and wastefulness, and even become burdened by bank interest. However, the dowry that is customary among Muslims, which is given to daughters as a Sunnah, is actually a mistake about the nature of the items given by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to Hazrat Fatima (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on her marriage. The nature of the traditions that have come down in this regard is explained below.
Hazrat Ali narrates that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) provided Hazrat Fatima with a blanket, a sackcloth, and a pillow filled with adhkhar grass. (Sunan An-Nasa'i)
Hazrat Imam Qastalani (may Allah have mercy on him) while describing the marriage of Hazrat Fatimah writes that when Hazrat Ali requested the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to marry Hazrat Fatimah, he (ﷺ) said: What do you have for dowry? Hazrat Ali said: Nothing. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked him: Where is your broken particle? Sell it. So Hazrat Ali sold his particle to Hazrat Uthman for 480 dirhams. According to some narrations, Hazrat Uthman bought his particle and later gifted it to Hazrat Ali. Hazrat Ali presented the price of the particle to the Holy Prophet (ﷺ). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) called Hazrat Bilal and gave him some dirhams and said: Use this money to buy perfume and household necessities for Lady Fatimah (the gifts of this world). The items that were taken as dowry to Hazrat Fatima have been mentioned by various biographers. The essential items that this dowry consisted of were: a white shirt, a large sheet to cover the head, a black Khyberi hela, a bed made of date palm leaves, two mattresses, one of which was stuffed with sheep's wool while the other was stuffed with date palm leaves, a mat, a hand mill, a copper bowl, a leather skin for filling water, a clothes-washing stick, a bowl for milk, a bowl for drinking water, a woolen curtain, a rug, an earthenware pot, a leather mat for laying on the floor, two jugs, four pillows made of sheep's skin stuffed with a fragrant grass called azkhar (Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra). A tradition states that these goods were purchased with the money from Hazrat Ali's armor, which he sold to Hazrat Uthman. (Seerat Ibn Ishaq)
All these details make it clear how necessary the goods were that were given to the Lady of Paradise. The nature of the goods given to Hazrat Fatima was the opposite of dowry. These goods were not dowry goods, but rather a necessity because he (PBUH) was the guardian of Hazrat Ali and supported him. Since Hazrat Ali’s childhood, all the expenses were the responsibility of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), so it was natural for him (PBUH) to provide these necessary goods so that Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Fatima could start their new life. The need to provide these goods also arose because Fatima and Ali had moved to a new house. If this had been dowry, the Prophet (PBUH) would have certainly given such dowry to his other daughters.
There is a tradition about Hazrat Zainab that on the occasion of her departure, Hazrat Khadija had given her necklace to her. Therefore, when her husband Abu Al-As was taken prisoner during the Battle of Badr, she sent him the same necklace as ransom. When the Prophet (PBUH) saw this necklace, he recognized it. His heart was touched and he remembered Hazrat Khadija. He left Abu Al-As without ransom and returned Zainab's necklace to him. (Tabaqat Al-Kubra)
The Hanafi jurists are of the opinion that the preparation of the house (and household goods) is the responsibility of the husband because it is obligatory upon him to provide all kinds of expenses such as food, clothing and accommodation, and the household goods, which are commonly called dowry, are included in the house of residence. Therefore, in this sense, the preparation of household goods is obligatory upon the husband. The right of mahr cannot be a substitute for dowry because it is purely a gift and it is purely the property of the wife (al-Ahwal al-Shashiyyah).
According to Maliki jurists, although the preparation of dowry items is the responsibility of the woman, it is also clarified that she will prepare these items from the advance payment of the dowry (immediately paid dowry) and not from her personal property or the property of her parents. If the husband does not send any advance payment of dowry to her before her departure, then she is not obligated to prepare dowry items. (Al-Ahwal Al-Shashiyyah)
A man used to visit the famous Tabi'i Hazrat Saeed bin Al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him). Once he was absent for several days and when he came back after a long time, Hazrat Saeed asked him the reason for his absence. He told him that his wife had died, so he was busy. Hazrat Saeed (may Allah have mercy on him) asked him, "Have you married anyone else?" He said, "I am poor, who will give me a marriage?" Hazrat Saeed (may Allah have mercy on him) married him to his daughter on the spot for a dowry of two dirhams. When the man went home, he himself took his daughter's hand and left her at his house in the evening. Hazrat Saeed (may Allah have mercy on him) did not give this relationship of his daughter to the Caliph of the time (al-Hiliyat al-Awliya). This incident also proves that it is not necessary for the husband or wife to give dowry on the occasion of marriage, nor is it an essential part of marriage and marriage, otherwise, followers of the Sunnah like Saeed bin Musayyib would never violate it. Hazrat Imam Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him) says: It is very reprehensible for men to keep an eye on women's wealth and be greedy for more dowry. In another place, he said that marriage should be marriage, not trade and gambling. (Ihya' Uloom al-Din) Hazrat Sufyan al-Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him) says: When a man who is getting married finds out what his wife (dowry goods and wealth) has brought, then consider that person a thief (Ihya' Uloom al-Din).
The gist of the above discussion is that the prevailing dowry is a social tradition, not a religious requirement. The burden placed on parents to give a huge amount of goods on the occasion of marriage has neither a religious basis nor is it an essential part of the marriage. Over time, this tradition has turned into a burden of show, extravagance, competition and debt, which especially affects poor and middle-class families. The fact is that the real purpose of marriage is simplicity, ease and a dignified relationship between two families, not unnecessary rituals and social pressure. Therefore, it is necessary that society, instead of considering this tradition as pride or compulsion, returns to making marriage easy and avoiding unnecessary expenses, so that families can be protected from financial and mental burden.