May the Mahr Be Donated to Charity or Shared in Both Spouses’ Names?
Shafi'i Fiqh
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
May the mahr be donated to charity instead of kept by the bride, and can it be in both spouses’ names?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
The mahr is an obligation upon the husband that is given to the bride. Once it is given, the bride takes full ownership of it.
The Bride’s Full Ownership of the Mahr
Since the mahr belongs entirely to the bride, she may decide what to do with it. If she chooses to donate it to charity, that is her decision.
She may do anything she wishes with it: keep it, sell it, or give it away. It is hers.
If the bride decides to give the mahr in charity, she may do so. This is entirely within her right, because she owns it completely.
No Restrictions on Permissible Use
The mahr can be placed in both spouses’ names if the bride chooses to do so. Since it belongs to her, she may decide to share it or designate it in both of their names.
The essential question is whether the bride is allowed to do whatever she wants with the mahr. The answer is yes. Anything permissible to do, she may do with her mahr.
And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town. He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.
