Woman in Islamic Shari‘ah
9. Dowry
~ 198 ~
borne all ‘Ali’s expenses right from the time he
came to him, it was but natural that on the occasion
of his marriage, the Prophet, as his guardian,
should give him some necessary items with which
to set up his home.
161. An-Nasa’i,
Sunan, Kitab an-Nikah,
5/135.
162. Al-Haythami,
Majma’ az-Zawa’id wa Manba’ al-
Fawa’id, Kitab al-Manaqib
, 9/210.
163. Ibid., 9/209.
DOMESTIC NECESSITIES
It is clear that the verb
jahhaza,
as used in the
traditions, never had the meaning which it has
acquired in Modern times. In Arabic, it simply
meant the “furnishing of provisions.”
164
Nowadays, it is commonly held that at the time of
her marriage, a girl should be given an ample
dowry to enable her to set up her new home with
ease. But this is a wholly non-Islamic concept and
has no bearing whatsoever on the ideal of marriage
in Islam. Had it been a traditional Islamic practice,
we should certainly have seen the precedents set for
