A Review of Legal and Jurisprudential (Fiqh) Nature of Marriage Portion (Mahria)

Twelver Shi‘a jurist's interpretations of marriage portion seem to have different views. Some jurist's interpretations apparently consider marriage as a kind of exchange contract and, accordingly, marriage portion is considered as an exchange. On the contrary, other jurist's interpretations make explicit that marriage is not a kind of exchange contract and, accordingly, marriage portion is not like an exchange contracts. As a result, Twelver Shi‘a jurists believe that marriage contract is not a kind of exchange contract although sometimes marriage is referred to as an exchange contract because some of the rules of exchange contracts correspond to some of the aspects of marriage contract. Therefore, marriage portion does not have the quiddity of an exchange; rather, it is a special gift determined by the Most High God which the husband has to pay to his wife. A special gift means that jurisprudential (fiqh) and legal rules of gift contract do not apply to it completely. The dominant view on the legal nature of marriage portion is like that of its jurisprudential (fiqh).