Islamic Marriage and the English Legal System: Dowry

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem' الرَّحِيْمِ الرَّحْمٰنِ اللهِ بِسْمِ

Tahir Khan barrister provides some useful legal and practical guidance on dowry and its validity and recognition under English Law together with some of the challenges and difficulties that face practitioners when confronted with such matters.

Introduction

In recent years there has been a proliferation of dowry cases that are being presented in front of English Courts today. The concept of Mahr has been replaced with that of dowry because of the synonymous usage of the words. Especially in South Asia giving dowry is heavily practiced. 

According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica’s definition dowry is the money goods or estate that a woman brings to her husband or his family in marriage and this practice has a long history in Europe South Asia Africa and other parts of the world.

In Indian society this practice has been responsible for many estranged marriages violation of rights and in some cases resulted in the bride’s death. Despite the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 Dowry is still widely practiced in India today. It is a “demanded gift” by...

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