Western society has real no equality, only numerical in theory. The guidelines in Quran dated at time of Messenger far exceeds in value any of the mind altering limitations of western ideas. We have a punitive society. Allah is based on reflection, and his requirement of fairness. Man is incapable to design the best judgment, so the question of 21st western society being more islamic molding of the time sounds interesting but runs into the corner of being limited in seeing god’s greatness. deeply flawed

So it’s all relative, as many have said.

Imam Suhaib if we want to develop a generally agreed upon direction for mahr i think we should look to the Sunnah.

I dont have the exact source but i think that that Ali (R) gave Fatima (R) an equivelent of 1,530 grams of silver as a mahr and our Noble Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, approved of it.

I think that using this as a general standard would provide many benefits.

First, many cultures have customs of giving jewlery so the bride and groom can incorporate the mahr into the customs. (i.e. wedding rings )

Second, the price of silver fluctuates with the economy so brothers can plan for their mahr according to their financial status. The bride could always sell the silver for a profit.

Third and most importantly its sunnah!

All of this is meant to lead up to the question: how can we be sure that “men are the protectors and maintainers of women” is prescriptive rather than descriptive? Could it not be that the rules that follow from that statement (such as double inheritance and the dowry) are tied to this description of fact at the time of the Prophet (saw)? In other words, shouldn’t there be some thought about whether a society constructed under traditional Islamic rules is or is not more Islamic than one built upon a contemporary “egalitarian” framework?

That last question sounds heretical, but if we take into consideration that the Prophet was not starting from scratch, but working on the existing framework of 7th C Arabian society, and trying to mold it into something better, we might wonder whether the framework of 21st C western society with regards to equality between the sexes is already more Islamic than (7th C Arabia + Islamic molding) could have been.

I would be incredibly interested if you could recommend, or write, something on this topic. Jazakumullahu khairan.

I guess I think of this whole issue from a different perspective than some here.

I look at where the young couple are and what the customs and traditions of their area call for. Here in the States, the young couple end up paying for the entire costs of the wedding as well as their home and its furnishings. Also, in this day and age, when marrying a family’s daughter, you really aren’t taking away a family member that may have contributed greatly to the upkeep of the family’s home as it may have been in the olden days.

As such, I think a nominal Mahr to conform with the requirement of paying a Mahr to the bride’s family would be logical. Thus affording the young couple the ability to start their lives together with more money.

One recorded hadith suggests that ‘the best woman is the one whose mahr is the easiest to pay.’ (al-Haythami, Kitab an-Nikah 4:281).

Abdul, isn’t 10% of a year’s salary after taxes kind of low…?