Woman in Islamic Shari‘ah
9. Dowry
~ 199 ~
it in the Prophet’s own lifetime. As it happened, the
Prophet gave household items only to Fatimah,
largely on account of his close relationship with
‘Ali, and gave nothing at all to his other three
daughters on the occasion of their marriages. Had
dowry-giving been an established
sunnah
of the
Prophet, he would surely have given it to his other
daughters as well.
THE REAL GIFT
One regrettable aspect of dowry-giving in recent
times is that it is becoming more and more a matter
of ostentation. Nothing could be more un-Islamic in
motivation than this. Even the practice of
performing a marriage quietly, without any
flamboyant display of wealth, but subsequently
giving a lavish dowry to enable the bride to set up
her home is contrary to Islamic practice. It was
certainly not the
sunnah
of the Prophet. Fatimah
was his favorite daughter, but he neither gave her a
lavish dowry nor did he send things to her home
after the wedding. Even when Fatimah made a
request to him for something of a material nature,
he only gave her the benefit of his counsel.
