What is the required dower (mahr) if dissolution (faskh) of marriage occurs after consummation?
Chapter on Marriage of Polytheists
Al-Mughni
Book of Marriage
Primary text
If dissolution occurs after consummation, the specified dower (al-mahr al-musamma) is obligatory. This is because the dower is established by the marriage contract and confirmed by consummation, and thus cannot be voided by an event occurring afterward. It is not waived due to the wife's apostasy or due to dissolution initiated by her. The evidence supporting the validity of the marriage for this purpose is that all conditions and pillars of marriage were met, making it valid as if it had not been dissolved. Furthermore, valid legal consequences follow, such as establishing chastity (ihsan) and permitting the wife to remarry her first husband, along with all other rulings of a valid marriage. To argue otherwise suggests the marriage was fundamentally void, which is incorrect because dissolution takes effect from the moment it occurs and does not relate back to the past; the event occurred under a form that cannot be otherwise classified.
Supporting text
There are two reported views within the Hanbali school (as noted by Al-Qadi in 'Al-Mujarrad'): one opinion states that the specified dower must be paid, and the second states that the equivalent dower (mahr al-mithl) is due, based on differing views regarding invalid contracts. Imam Al-Shafi'i holds that the equivalent dower is obligatory because the dissolution refers back to the contract, making it analogous to a fundamentally invalid contract.