Hadith 40608

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibnAbd al-Aziz during his khalifate, wrote to one of his governors,"Whatever a father, or guardian, who gives someone in marriage, makesa condition in the way of unreturnable gift or of favour, belongs tothe woman if she wants it."Malik spoke about a woman whosefather gave her in marriage and made an unreturnable gift a conditionof the bride-price which was to be given. He said, "Whatever is givenas a condition by which marriage occurs belongs to the woman if shewants it. If the husband parts from her before the marriage isconsummated, the husband has half of the unreturnable gift by whichthe marriage occurred."Malik said about a man who marriedoff his young son and the son had no wealth at all, that the bride-price was obliged of the father if the young man had no property onthe day of marriage. If the young man did have property the bride-price was taken from his property unless the father stipulated that hewould pay the bride-price. The marriage was affirmed for the son if hewas a minor only if he was under the guardianship of his father.Malik said that if a man divorced his wife before he hadconsummated the marriage and she was a virgin, her father returnedhalf of the bride-price to him. That half was permitted to the husbandfrom the father to compensate him for his expenses.Maliksaid that that was because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said inHis Book, "Unless they (women with whom he had not consummatedmarriage) make remission or he makes remission to him in whose hand isthe knot of marriage." (Sura 2 ayat 237). (He being the father of avirgin daughter or the master of a female slave.)Malik said,"That is what I have heard about the matter, and that is how thingsare done among us."Malik said that a jewish or christianwoman who was married to a jew or christian and then became muslimbefore the marriage had been consummated, did not keep anything fromthe bride-price.Malik said, "I do not think that womenshould be married for less than a quarter of a dinar. That is thelowest amount for which cutting off the hand is obliged ."