Woman in Islamic Shari‘ah
9. Dowry
~ 205 ~
166. Qur’an, 4:34.
Rabi’ah Aslami, who tells of how he used to serve
the Prophet, was asked one day by the latter why he
did not get married. Rabi’ah replied that it was
because he had nothing to give to his wife-to-be.
The Prophet mulled the whole matter over, then
asked him to go to a certain Ansar tribe and say that
the Prophet had sent him to get married to a
particular woman. Rabi’ah did as the Prophet
advised, conveying his message to the tribesmen,
and was duly married to the woman in question.
But he greatly regretted having nothing to give her
by way of dower. He came back to the Prophet and
told him of his feelings. The Prophet then arranged
for the dower by requesting the Chief of the Aslam
tribe, Burayda Aslami, to “collect for him (Rabi’ah
Aslami) gold equal in weight to one date stone.”
Rabi’ah relates how the people of his tribe did just
that, whereupon he took the collected gold from
them, and went to the Prophet. The latter told him
to take it to the girl’s family, and tell them that this
was her dower. Rabi’ah did so. They accepted it
with pleasure, saying, “It is much, it is good.”
168
