Re: Dowry
This concept of an extravagant jahez is a remnant of Hinduism in our culture. The Prophet gave Fatima a very simple jahez, but alas, no one follows that anymore. I never understood why the burden to set up the new couple falls on the girl's family. Why not the guy's family? After all, it's THEIR son that is going to be cared for with all this stuff. One thing that always bothered me was a print ad for a bed in Pakistan. It shows a girl at her rukhsati with her father in one shot, and then the same bride on a bed. Basically the message is to the girl's father: It's your responsibilty to buy her a bed now. Excuse me? The groom's the one that will be "sleeping" with her on this bed. Shouldn't he be buying it? Does the father really have to provide the bed on which his little girl will be doing the deed on?