The Mahr and Related Matters in the Case of Divorce before Seclusion

Question

Zayd’s nikah was concluded with Hinda. There had not yet been any seclusion between them, that is, intimacy, when it came to divorce. Is she entitled to receive the full mahr, and what is the ruling on the return of the jewellery that Zayd gave at the time of the nikah?

Answer

In this case half of the mahr must be paid. The jewellery and other things that the husband gave the wife as ownership (tamlik), or whatever the wife’s parents gave the son-in-law as ownership, are not to be returned; rather, whatever was given to someone belongs to that person.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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