Our Journal

What Happens to Mahr and Property If a Muslim Dies Without a Will in a Non-Muslim Country?

When a Muslim dies without a will in a non-Muslim country, two legal systems collide — and the result is rarely what Islamic law intended. This guide explains what happens to unpaid mahr, shared property, and the wider estate under civil intestacy rules, what Islamic inheritance law actually requires, and why dying without a documented nikah contract and a valid will is one of the most preventable causes of injustice facing Muslim families in the West today.

Mahr vs Dowry — Why Muslim Families Still Confuse the Two and Why It Matters

Across South Asian, Arab, and African Muslim communities, mahr and dowry are routinely confused, merged, or quietly substituted for one another. This confusion is not merely semantic — it strips Muslim women of rights they were guaranteed by divine command, funds wedding expenses that Islam never obligated them to pay, and perpetuates a financial structure that the Shariah explicitly dismantled. This article examines both concepts with precision, traces where the confusion comes from, and explains clearly why the distinction matters — legally, religiously, and practically.

What Is Nikah Kafaah — Compatibility in Islamic Marriage and What It Actually Means

Kafaah — the concept of compatibility in Islamic marriage — is one of the most invoked and most distorted ideas in Muslim matrimonial culture. Families cite it to block marriages. Scholars debate its scope. Young Muslims are told their chosen spouse is "not their equal" without anyone explaining what equality in this context actually means Islamically. This article examines what the Shariah actually says about kafaah, which factors the classical scholars considered, which ones they explicitly rejected, and how the concept applies — and is routinely misapplied — in the context of marriages today.

How Much Mahr Is Enough? — The Islamic Guidance on Setting a Fair and Realistic Amount

How much mahr is actually required in Islam — and how much is too little, too much, or just right? This guide examines what the primary sources and all four Sunni schools say about mahr amounts, what the Prophet ﷺ set for his own family, why symbolic mahrs cause real harm, and how to arrive at a figure that genuinely honours the wife's right rather than technically satisfying a contractual box.

What Questions Should Muslims Ask Before Nikah? — An Islamic Pre-Marriage Checklist

Most couples spend more time planning the wedding than preparing for the marriage itself. This Islamic pre-marriage checklist covers the deeper questions — about deen, finances, family boundaries, compatibility, and expectations — that every Muslim should ask and answer honestly before saying yes to nikah.

Can a Muslim Woman Choose Her Own Husband in Islam? What Shariah Actually Says

The question of whether a Muslim woman can choose her own husband sits at the intersection of Quranic principle, prophetic precedent, classical fiqh, and centuries of cultural distortion. The Shariah answer is more woman-affirming than most families acknowledge — and more nuanced than many reformist readings allow. This article examines what Islamic scholarship across all four madhabs actually established, and what it means for Muslim women navigating marriage today.