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Fatwa CenterRuling on engagement gifts after termination of engagement
Question
If the fiancée breaks off the engagement, to whom does the engagement gifts (ring and jewelry) belong: to the suitor or the fiancée? What is the evidence in the Noble Quran and the Sunnah that proves that the fiancée should return the engagement ring and jewelry to the suitor if she was the reason for breaking the engagement, considering it part of the dowry?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
The engagement ring and jewelry can be considered either the suitor’s gift to his fiancée or a part of the dowry to which both parties had agreed, or considered to be so according to the common practice.
If the engagement ring and jewelry were considered a gift, then they would be subject to the Islamic rulings related to gifts. Hence, the suitor does not have the right to reclaim them if the engagement is broken, since they are a gift that belongs to the fiancée. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “It is not lawful for a man to give a gift and afterwards to take it back." [At-Tirmithi]
However, if the engagement ring and jewelry were given as part of the dowry, whether according to the arrangements between the families or according to common practice, and the engagement was broken off, then they belong to the suitor. It is well-known that the dowry is fully payable and binding if the marriage contract is finalized; and the engagement is not a contract. Hence, the engagement gift should be returned to the suitor unless he gives it up generously out of his own free will.
Allaah Knows best.
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