Excessive Mahr

Question

Is it permissible to fix, or to have fixed, a mahr greater than one’s means, saying that in the biradari (clan community) the custom is a mahr of exactly this much?

Answer

In such a situation the nikah is indeed valid, but fixing a large mahr and going to excess in it is not approved by the Shari‘a. In particular, doing so for show before people and out of adherence to custom is prohibited by the Shari‘a.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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