Someone got married and paid a lot of money as a dowry and registered this in the contract. Later, he knew that this dowry was not given to the bride. What should he do?

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.

Dowry is the bride's own property and it is she who takes it herself if she is mature. If she is not, her father or his representative or the guardian of a naive woman takes the dowry on her behalf. If the husband paid the dowry to someone who is not entitled to receive it and he wasted it, both the husband and the man who received the dowry must pay it back. The wife in this case can take it from either the husband or from the one who received the money because the first paid it to someone other than the one who deserves to receive it and the second received what he is not entitled to receive.

Consequently, if the husband paid the dowry to his mature wife, her representative or the guardian of his naïve wife, then he neither has to repay it nor is he held liable for this.

On the other hand, if he paid it to someone other than the bride's representative when she is mature, or to someone other than her guardian if she is naïve, and then the dowry is lost, she is allowed to take it from any person whether he is the payer or the receiver of the money.

Allaah Knows best.