Is it better to give mahr Fatimi or the amount of mahr the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم gave to his wives?

As salaamu ’alaykum,

I’ve seen many ‘ulama emphasize how good it is to set the mahr at Mahr Fatimi. I’ve also seen this to be the practice of many ‘ulama and religious people.

However, while I can certainly see why following that amount in mahr would be good, wouldn’t it be better and closer to the sunnah to have the mahr set in accordance to the mahr the Prophet ﷺ gave to most of his wives (mahr azwaaj)? Especially since it is the mahr the Prophet ﷺ actually gave vs one he just approved and was given by Sayyiduna Ali رضي الله عنه

Is there any text from the previous ‘ulama about it being good to follow that specific mahr of mahr Fatimi? Or is it just something which has become more of a common practice amongst the religious people and ulama more recently?

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما

Mahr Fatimi is the mahr which the Prophet ﷺ  set for his daughter Sayyidatuna Fatimah رضي الله عنها. Shari’ah has ordained mahr as a sign of honor and dignity for women. People commonly determine the amount of the mahr based on the woman’s status.

Even though the wives of the Prophet ﷺ are amongst the most honorable people, it would not be as appropriate to set our mahr in accordance to their mahr because marrying the Prophet ﷺ was already an honor for them and they would have willingly married him without any mahr. Therefore, we should rather look at the mahr the Prophet ﷺ approved for his daughter, who is the most honorable of people. The amount that was set for her is what we should also set for ourselves.

Nevertheless, the mahr given to most of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ is almost the same as the amount as the mahr of Sayyidatuna Fatimah رضي الله عنها and some say that it was the same amount.

والله اعلم

And Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala knows best.

Mahmood Memon

Approved by Mufti Husain Ahmad Madani