A spin-off from an interesting thread in the Culture Forum that a Guppy had started. What’s the difference between these three - jahez/dowry/meher and which one is purely religious and which one is purely cultural?
Jahez/dowry - are they the same thing and is it what the girl’s side of the family gives to the guy and his family members?
Meher - is this what the guy’s side of the family gives to the girl and her family members ?
The girl’s side of the family ALWAYS has given gifts in my family, but i have always wondered - where in Islam does it state this? If possible i want specific verse numbers from the Quran and/or specific Hadiths (is it Muslim, Bukhari, etc.). If this is a spin-off from a Hindu ritual (as i have often heard my relatives state it is), then why on earth do we still follow this?
Last question - when Fatima, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), got married to Ali (peace be upon him), what happened during her wedding? What gifts were the couple given from Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)? Did her side of the family have to give anything in ‘jahez’?
PLEEEEEEEEASE no one bring an argument of do-you-follow-the-Quran-or-the-Hadith into this thread 
And if i hear the word ‘Ahmadi’ in any reply, i’ll just ignore that reply. Muchas gracias in advance.
Yes Prophet :saw: did give his daughter presents.. the things of daily use to run a household. and personal belongings..
This is only natural.. but making it a compulsion is mentioned nowhere.. dowrey is clearly a cultural thing..
Mehar is given as a religious custom and is essential..
Jahez is just a hindu tradition that some desi Muslims have kept from their ancestors and some have adopted from their hindu neighbours...
The local maulvi sahib was saying in the Friday sermon yesterday that Jahez has nothing to do with Islam, In Islam when a woman gets married she still has the same rights of inheritance from her fathers property, she still keeps her fathers name/surname and she is till part of that family that she was born into but with the hindus and stuff when a girl gets married they are 'given away' and after marriage she becomes an 'outsider' thats why they are given presents and money and other things...
Meher however has to be given by the man to his bride as a present.
Jahez is the Urdu Term of Dowry which is a hindu tradition which muslims of the subcontinent has adopted it in particular.
Maher is something which is a wife's right that the husband must fullfill if he plans to divorce her.
Therefore, maher is something like a fixed amount of money that is written in the marriage contract between husband and wife during the nikkah, where the amount of money is written that the husband will pay if he divorces his wife.
However, if the wife wants the divorce herself then the husband doesn't have to pay the money. Its only when the husband just divorce her wife.
Infact, i have read some where if a wife wants she can relieve her husband from the obligation of maher or she can demand maher while they are married. If that's the case where wife demands her maher even still they are married, then even then husband must pay.
And if a wife wants divorce, she will not get any thing from the maher.
Therefore, dowry or jahez has nothing to do with islam. but if a woman's parents want to give her daugther something as presents then there is nothing wrong with it, but the husband or his family cannot force or demand something from them. Such thing has no place anywhere in Islam.
Imam Ali(a.s.) said "O Prophet of Allah(swt), you know my condition very well, I have only a sword, my war dress and one camel". Prophet Mohammad(pbuh&hf) said: "Ali, you definitely need your sword for fighting Jihad and camel for traveling, however, you war dress could work. (Ibne Jozi)
"Ali you cannot do without your sword, for you have to struggle with it and defend yourself against the enemies of Allah. As for your camel you need it to irrigate palm trees and support your family, and you need it as a means of travel. But I accept the shield as a dowry from you; thus, sell it and bring me the money." Various sources claim the dress was sold for either 63, 400, 480 or 500 dirhams.
The accounts are contradictory, some say that the prophet gave 63 Dirhams of his own to Abu Bakr and Salman Farsi to buy a dowry, while others say that it was the money that he obtained from selling Ali's dress.
Adding the items mentioned in all sources, following was dowry of Fatimah, may allah be pleased with her:
- Two mattresses made of Egyptian canvas. (One stuffed with fiber and the other with sheep wool)
- A leather mat
- A pillow made of skin, filled with palm tree fiber
- A Khaibarion cloak
- An animal skin for water
- Some jugs and jars also for water
- A pitcher painted with tar
- A thin curtain made of wool
- A shirt costing seven (7) dirhams
- A veil costing four (4) dirhams
- A black plush cloak
- A bed embellished with ribbon
- Four cushions made of skin imported from Ta'ef, stuffed with a good smelling plant.
- A mat from Hajar
- A hand-mill
- A special copper container used for dyestuff
- A pestle for grinding coffee
- A (water) skin
When Abu Bakr and the other companions had bought the above-mentioned articles, they carried them to Umme Salama's house. When the Prophet (S) saw them, he started kissing every article and supplicated to Allah, saying: "O Allah, bless them for they are people who the majority of their belongings are made of natural materials." (Ahmed Bin Hanbal)
what happened during her wedding? What gifts were the couple given
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*Originally posted by AvgAmericanGirl: *
what happened during her wedding? What gifts were the couple given
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Do you mean the gifts given by those who were invited to the wedding?
Destino, Saif-ul-Islam, AngryYoungMan, and Paaga| |nsaan,
Many many thanks for your replies. It really cleared up my confusion. Thank you. 
