Dowry of a wife who is proven guilty of adultery
Fatwa No: 163513

Question

i divorced my wife after i found out she had relations with another man and become pregnant with his child,its been i year since and i havent yet paid her dowry,is she still entittled to it?

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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.  

Consummating marriage with a woman affirms her right to the whole dowry, even if she is proved guilty of adultery, we seek refuge in Allaah from this.

Hence, if you divorced your wife after having consummated the marriage with her, without putting the condition that she should give up her dowry, entirely or partly, then her right to the dowry would be assured to her, and it is due on you to pay it to her.

It is noteworthy that the child born in the marital bed (i.e. inside marriage) can only be denied by way of Li‘aan. For further information, please refer to Fatwa 84301.

Allaah Knows best.

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