The ruling on shabka in the event o...

Egypt's Dar Al-Ifta

The ruling on shabka in the event of khul'

Question

0pt; unicode-bidi: embed; direction: ltr">We reviewed request no. 367 for the year 2011 which includes the following:
What is the ruling on shabka in the event of khul'?

Answer

It is established in Islamic law that a woman is entitled to receive half of the dowry by virtue of the marriage contract and the full dowry after the consummation of marriage. According to customs, the shabka (what a man traditionally gives his fiancée upon the marriage agreement, usually gold jewelry) is considered part of the dowry because people agree on it before the marriage takes place. It is not a gift. Islamic legislation takes into account customs due to the words of Allah Almighty Who says:
Hold to forgiveness; command what is right. [Al-A'raf: 199]
Ibn-Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reported in a non-prophetic narration, "What Muslims deem to be good, is good according to Allah and what Muslims deem to be evil, is evil according to Allah" [Recorded by Ahmed his Musnad and by Al-Taylalsy in his Musnad]. Therefore, the shabka is part of the dowry.
The ruling
A woman who is divorced through khul' (divorce initiated by the wife in return for remuneration to the husband) must return to her husband the dowry which includes the shabka and any unconsumed gifts he gave her before concluding the marriage contract and after proposing to her.
Allah the Almighty knows best.
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