A divorced wife asks for her deferred Mahr after she had waived it

25-4-2014 | IslamWeb

Question:

a nikaah took place in which half of the mehar was paid and half was decided to be paid later, however after a year the wife said to the husband that she forgives the remaining portion of mehar and she doesnt want it... after 3 years divorce took place between this couple and the husband gave her talaaq. now after 6 months the wife is asking for mehar saying that she wants it as she needs it and the husband says this mehar is not due on him now cause she had already forgiven him the remaining portion of mehar,,,but the wife is insisting that she wants it now......... kindly help regarding this mattar as to what should be done,,,,

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Answer:

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

If a wife has willingly given up the deferred portion of her Mahr, while being of sound mind, she has no right to claim it later on and the husband is not obliged to pay it to her. Al-Mudawwanah reads, “If someone to whom you owe a debt absolves you of paying it, then if you say: I have accepted, then this is considered payment of the debt, and the debt is waived.”

However, in case of dispute among the creditor and debtor regarding absolving the debtor, the Islamic judge in a Sharee'ah-court, if available, should judge between them; otherwise, the scholars at the Islamic centers should carry out that task.

Allaah Knows best.