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Fatwa CenterDelayed Mahr and divorce expenses
Question
A man, Egyptian by origin and Canadian by citizenship and residence, married an Egyptian woman in Egypt, and set the deferred portion of her dowry (Muakhar) in the contract at a certain high amount, upon the request of her family. Shortly afterwards she joined him in Canada and gave birth to their daughter. She demanded a divorce at court and made up many problems as a pretext. To get the most out of this divorce, she falsely accused him of extremely serious accusations, such as sexual and physical abuse of his own little daughter. The court in Canada found out that her accusations were untrue and gave them shared custody of the girl, now a toddler. However, the court also demanded that he pay a large monthly alimony and support for his ex-wife and the child, exceeding half his salary. The total sums she has received for herself now exceed the deferred portion of the dowry. He also incurred large expenses for lawyers and costs of litigation. She has obviously taken advantage of the applicable systems in Canada, and now also wants to claim more under Islamic Shariah. Taking these factors into consideration, along with the serious financial and psychological harm she has caused him, would he still be obliged to pay her the Muakhar? If yes, what would the situation be if he cannot afford it?
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
It is not allowed for a Muslim or a Muslimah to go for judgement in their dispute to the civil courts regardless of the country where he/she is living. Thus, this divorced woman must refer to Islamic authorities to settle the dispute and to allocate the expenditure of her daughter, and also her expenditure as divorced wife during her Iddah (waiting period).
Therefore, we advise this woman to refer to Muslim scholars in her region to look into the rulings issued by the Canadian court whether they suit Islamic Shariah or not, and also to issue the Islamic rulings concerning her rights and those of her daughter as well.
As for what your wife has taken from you, if she has been spending the amount taken from you on your daughter then she has the right to take her Mahr, and you have to pay it. If she has taken the amount for herself and it was more than the expenditure of her Iddah, in this case you may consider the extra money that exceeds her legal expenditure as part of her Mahr. But it could be done only after consulting a Muslim judge or an Islamic authority that can estimate the amount of the obligatory expenditure you have to pay her.
Finally, know that Mahr is due on you and you have to pay it sooner or later. If you cannot pay it now you have to pay it whenever you are able to pay it, or you may become free from this obligation if she excuses you from it. As for what you have lost, that is not considered as Mahr; trust in Allah, He will compensate you and give you the best reward for that. If this woman takes your money unjustly Allah will punish her.
Finally, we encourage you to be pious and ask Allah to keep you away from evil.
Allah knows best.
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