سورة البقرة

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "A man married a woman and set as her mahr a well-known garden of his (in which other crops could also be planted) that had a great yield; several years passed and he did not consummate the marriage with her, and then he divorced her. What is the ruling regarding the woman's mahr?" He said: He should give her half of the yield of the garden during this period and half of the value of the garden, unless the woman herself forgives. And if they reach some kind of settlement and both consent, that is nearer to piety.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mansur ibn Hazim said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about a man who takes a woman as his wife and specifies a dowry for her, then dies without having consummated the marriage with her. He replied: "That woman receives the full dowry and the inheritance." I said to him: "The narrators have reported from you that she receives half of the dowry." He said: "They do not accurately remember my words. That ruling applies specifically to the divorced woman."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Usama ibn Hafs said: I asked Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) about a man who takes a woman as his wife but does not specify a dowry for her. He replied: This woman is entitled to inheritance and must observe the waiting period (iddah), while she has no dowry. Have you not read this verse of the [Book of] Allah the Exalted? وَإِن طَلَّقْتُمُوهنَّ مِن قَبْلِ أَن تَمَسُّوهنَّ وَقَدْ فَرَضْتُمْ لَهنَّ فَرِیضَةً فَنِصْفُ مَا فَرَضْتُمْ [And if you divorce them before you have touched them and you have appointed for them a portion, then (pay to them) half of what you have appointed].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): If a man divorces his wife before he has had intercourse with her, the woman has become separated from that man and can, from the very moment of the divorce, marry whomever she wishes [and has no waiting period]; and if [the man] had specified a dowry for her, he must give her half of it, and if he had not specified a dowry for her, he must provide her with a benefit [by giving her a gift].

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): [A divorced woman whose marriage was not consummated] can, at the very moment she is divorced, marry another man, and she does not need to observe a waiting period (iddah).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Samaa'a narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The meaning is the father, the brother, the man who has become the woman's agent by way of a bequest [of that woman's father], and anyone who is able to dispose of and manage the woman's property and can sell or purchase property on her behalf. Any of these persons is permitted to relinquish [part of] the dowry. I said to him: If the woman says, "I do not approve of his actions," what is the ruling? He replied in answer: The woman cannot regard her guardian as authorised in the matter of selling her property and yet not regard him as authorised in other matters such as this.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): What is meant is the woman's guardian, and those who are permitted to relinquish all of the mahr (dower) or part of it.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): What is meant is the woman's guardian who has given [her] in marriage, who may take part of the mahr (dower) or relinquish it, but he cannot relinquish all of it.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): He is the woman's guardian who has given the girl in marriage to someone, and he is permitted to receive part of the mahr (dower) and leave the other part; but he cannot relinquish all of the mahr.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): What is meant is the guardian [of the woman].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It refers to the father and anyone else whom the woman takes as her agent and the one in charge of her affair — such as a brother, or relatives, or others.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): What is meant is the guardian and the father [of that woman], who can pardon [the dower] only with the permission of that same woman.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Abi Umayr asked about a man who had taken his daughter's dower from her husband and then passed away: "Can that daughter demand her dower from the husband, or is the father's taking it like her own taking it?" His eminence said: If she had appointed the father as her agent to receive the dower, she has no right to demand it [again]; but if she had not appointed him as agent, she has the right to demand it. And the husband, after paying the dower a second time, may claim from the heirs of the deceased the amount he had given to the girl's father — unless the daughter was a minor and her father had given her in marriage to the husband by right of guardianship. In that case it was permissible for the father to receive the dower from the man on behalf of his minor daughter. And whenever the man divorces the woman before consummation, the father may pardon a portion of the dower and take a portion, but he has no right to pardon the entire dower. This is the word of the Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, who said: إِلَّا أَنْ یَعْفُونَ أَوْ یَعْفُوَا الَّذِی بِیَدِهِ عُقْدَةُ النِّکاحِ [unless they relinquish or he should relinquish in whose hand is the marriage tie] — meaning the father, or another person from among the brothers or relatives, or any other person whom the woman has appointed as her agent.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [The woman's guardian] cannot pardon all of it (the dower); rather, he has the right to remit only a portion of it. But if the woman prevents him, then when the interest so requires, that [portion of the dower] does not accrue to her either.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [The Imam (peace be upon him)] said regarding a man doing business with an orphan's property: Let him give something of the profit to that orphan too, for Allah says: لا تَنْسَوُا الْفَضْلَ بَیْنَکُمْ [and do not neglect the giving of free gifts between you].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): A hard time will come upon the people, when the wealthy man on that day will hold tightly to what is in his hands, though he has not been commanded to do so. Allah, the Glorified, says: "And do not neglect the giving of free gifts between you." In that time the [turn of] the age will raise up the wicked and the evil, and will humiliate the good. The destitute people, out of necessity, will sell their possessions for a low price, and the wealthy will buy them — even though the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) has forbidden such a transaction.