Woman Between Islam and Western Society
9. Dowry
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to Fatimah, the Prophet’s daughter, is an illustration
of how this custom was respected. (It has been
recorded in detail in the books of Hadith.) After the
marriage had been arranged, the Prophet asked ‘Ali
if he had anything he could give as dower in order
to make Fatimah his lawfully wedded wife. ‘Ali
replied, “By God, I have nothing, O Messenger of
God.” The Prophet then asked, “Where is the coat
of armor I once gave you?” ‘Ali replied that it was
still in his possession (although he later admitted
“by the Master of his soul” that it was in a
dilapidated condition and, as such, was not even
worth four
dirhams).
The Prophet then instructed
him — “since I have married you to Fatimah” — to
send the coat of armor to Fatimah, thereby making
his union lawful. This then was the sum total of
Fatimah’s dower.
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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
