and deferment, so no other factor is considered with it, and because it is treated differently from other substitutes regarding the one upon whom it is incumbent, and thus it is [also] treated differently regarding its deferment as a mitigation for him, unlike others. If the custom of her womenfolk is to defer the dower, there are two views regarding it: one is that it is mandated to be immediate, for that [previously mentioned] reason. The second is that it is mandated to be deferred, because the dower of her peer is deferred. If their custom is that when they marry [a woman] from their own kin, they provide a light dower, and when they marry someone else, they provide a heavy one, that is taken into consideration. This is the school of Al-Shafi'i. If it is said: If the dower of a peer is a substitute for something destroyed, it should not vary with the variation of the destroyed [victim], like other destroyed objects. We say: Marriage differs from other destroyed objects, for the primary purpose of other destroyed objects is their monetary value alone, so they do not vary with the variation of [the people destroying them], whereas marriage is intended for the specific persons of the spouses, so it varies with their variation. Also, other destroyed objects do not vary with the variation of customs, while the dower varies with customs, for if a woman is from a people whose custom is the reduction of the dowers of their women, the woman's dower from them must be light, even if she is better and more noble than the women of those whose custom is to increase the dower. Based on this, whenever their custom is to reduce it for a reason, such as nobility, wealth, or the like, it is taken into consideration in accordance with their custom. And Allah knows best.

Section: If a master marries his slave to his bondwoman, the judge said: No dower is obligatory, because if it were obligatory, it would be due to her master, and no wealth is due to a master from his slave. Abu al-Khattab said: The specified [amount] is due, or the dower of a peer if none was specified, so that the marriage is not void of a dower, and then it lapses due to the impossibility of establishing it. Abu 'Abd Allah said: If he marries his slave to his bondwoman, I would prefer that it be with a dower and witnesses. It was asked: What if he divorces her? He said: The dower is upon him if he is emancipated. It was asked: What if he marries her to him without a dower? He said: They have differed regarding this; Jabir held the view that it is permissible.