Is teaching a portion of the Quran permissible as the *mahr* (dower) in a marriage contract?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Dowry (Mahr)
Primary text
There is a difference of opinion regarding whether teaching the Quran can constitute the *mahr*. The position allowing it is supported by a narration concerning the Prophet, peace be upon him, marrying a man to a woman based on what he knew of the Quran, with this view being attributed to Al-Shafi'i. Evidence for permissibility rests on the established Hadith where the Prophet married a man to a woman in exchange for teaching her what he knew of the Quran, citing the general principle that any specified, permissible benefit can be used as *mahr*, analogous to teaching a permissible poem. Furthermore, it is argued that the Quran is a specific, permissible benefit (*manfa'ah*) that can be exchanged.
Supporting text
The position prohibiting this practice is the chosen stance (*ikhtiyari*) of this scholar and is the established doctrine of Malik, Al-Layth, Abu Hanifa, Makhul, and Ishaq. The evidence for prohibition is that conjugal rights (*furooj*) may only be made lawful by wealth (*amwal*), citing Quran 4:24 and Quran 4:25, where *tawl* (ability) is defined as wealth. Another supporting argument is that teaching the Quran is fundamentally an act of worship (*qurbah*) for the teacher, thus it cannot validly serve as *mahr*, similar to how fasting or prayer cannot be *mahr*. Additionally, the teaching is varied between teacher and student and is difficult to precisely define, resembling an unknown quantity.