1208 - Issue: He said: (And if she demands that he designate [a dowry] for her before the consummation, he shall be compelled to do so. If he designates for her the dowry of her peer, she shall have nothing else; and similarly, if he designates for her less than that and she accepts it.)

The sum of this is that the wife for whom the dowry was not specified (al-mufawwada) has the right to demand the designation of a dowry, because the marriage contract cannot be without a dowry, so it is necessary for her to demand the clarification of its amount. Al-Shafi'i stated this, and we do not know of any dissenter regarding it. If the two spouses agree upon its designation, what they have designated is permissible, whether it is small or large, and whether they are knowledgeable of the dowry of a peer (mahr al-mithl) or not knowledgeable of it. Al-Shafi'i said in one of his opinions: The designation is not valid for other than the dowry of a peer unless she has knowledge of the dowry of a peer, because what he designates is a substitute (badal) for the dowry of a peer, so it is necessary that what is being substituted be known. Our position is that if he designates a large amount for her, he has offered her from his wealth more than what is incumbent upon him, and if she accepts a small amount, she has accepted less than what is due to her, so she is not prevented from that. Their claim that it is a 'substitute' is incorrect, for the substitute is distinct from the substituted, and if the designated amount is less, it is only a part of it, and if it is more, it is the obligation plus an increase, so it is not valid to label it [as a substitute, and if it were a] substitute, it would not be permissible [to designate it] while having knowledge, because it would be substituting that which contains usury with its own kind in unequal amounts. Uqba ibn Amir narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to a man: 'Would you be satisfied if I marry you to so-and-so?' He said, 'Yes.' And he said to the woman, 'Would you be satisfied if I marry you to so-and-so?' She said, 'Yes.' Then he married one of them to the other, and he entered upon her, and did not designate a dowry for her. When death approached him, he said: 'The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) married me to so-and-so, and he did not designate a dowry for her, and I did not give her anything. I have given her my share in Khaybar as her dowry.' She took his share and sold it for one hundred thousand. As for when they dispute over it, and he designates for her the dowry of her peer, or more than that, she does not have the right to demand anything else.