Section: The dowry for the mufawwada (a woman married without a specified dowry) becomes obligatory upon the contract, and it is only replaced by the mat'a (consolatory gift) upon divorce. This is the school of Abu Hanifa. The followers of al-Shafi'i differed; some of them said: The correct view is that it becomes obligatory upon the contract. Others said: It does not become obligatory upon the contract, as a single, definitive position. Nothing else can be derived from the principles of al-Shafi'i; for if it were to become obligatory upon the contract, it would be halved upon divorce, like that which is specified in the contract. Our argument is that she has the right to demand it, so it is obligatory, like the specified dowry. Furthermore, if it did not become obligatory upon the contract, it would not be confirmed by death, as is the case in a corrupt contract. Moreover, it is not permissible for a marriage to be devoid of a dowry, and the assertion that it is not obligatory leads to it being devoid of one, and to the conclusion that the marriage was concluded validly and the husband attained the right of intercourse while there is no dowry in it. It is not halved because Allah the Exalted, upon divorce, transferred the unspecified [dowry] to the mat'a, just as He transferred the one for whom a [dowry] was specified to half of what was specified for her. And Allah knows best. Based on this, if a man delegates the dowry of his slave woman, then frees her or sells her, and then the dowry is designated for her, it belongs to her emancipator or seller, because the dowry became obligatory upon the contract while she was in his possession [and the designation is merely on his behalf]. If the woman delegates herself, then demands the designation of her dowry after the dowry of her peer has changed, or he has consummated the marriage with her, the dowry of her peer at the time of the contract becomes obligatory; due to what we have mentioned. The followers of al-Shafi'i agreed on this, because the obligation rests upon the time of the contract, except for the slave woman whom he freed or sold, according to one of the two views.

Section: It is permissible to consummate the marriage with a woman before giving her anything, regardless of whether she is a mufawwada or has a specified dowry. This was the view of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, al-Hasan, al-Nakha'i, al-Thawri, and al-Shafi'i. It is narrated from Ibn Abbas, Ibn Umar, al-Zuhri, Qatada, and Malik that he may not consummate the marriage with her until he gives her something. [Al-Zuhri said: The Sunnah has passed that he may not consummate the marriage with her until he gives her something.] Ibn Abbas said: