Delayed dowry of a wife who asks for divorce

11/03/2012| IslamWeb

Question
When I got married the contract stipulated a mahr 50,000 UAE Dirhams, to be given at the start, and another 50,000 UAE Dirhams to be given at the end - in the event of my death or divorce. I gave her the former before we married. She has now left me, after 26 years, saying she wants to be "free". If I divorce her do I have to give her the second mahr?

Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

If your wife wants divorce with no harm caused by you to her, it is obligatory upon you to accept her request for divorce, and it is permissible for you to reject to divorce her until she renounces her right of the delayed dowry.
But if you divorce her without you conditioning on her to renounce the agreed upon delayed dowry, then it becomes incumbent upon you to pay it to her.
Allah Knows best.

Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb