When is dower payable, how are gold and property recovered, and what happens to dower on khula? Our research paper studies 98 reported judgments of the Supreme Court and the Peshawar High Court (1974 to 2026) on haq mehr. This article summarises what they decide.

The basic rules

  • Dower arises from a valid marriage. If no amount was fixed, a reasonable dower (mehr-ul-misl) is presumed. It may be cash, gold, property or a mix of them.
  • The nikahnama is presumed to be true, and any ambiguity is read in the wife's favour.
  • Dower can be fixed or increased after the marriage.
  • It cannot be waived without the wife's own participation. An iqrarnama she did not sign does not extinguish it.

Prompt or deferred: when can she claim it?

Prompt dower is payable on demand at any time during the marriage, and filing a suit is itself a demand. Deferred dower with no fixed date becomes due on death or divorce. We found no superior court decision allowing deferred dower to be demanded during the marriage where no date or event was stated. Where the nikahnama does not say, section 10 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance presumes the whole dower to be prompt.

Full dower is due on consummation, death or valid retirement (Ajmal Khan v. Mst. Falak Negar Bibi, PLD 2019 Peshawar 218). Divorce before consummation entitles the wife to half the fixed dower (Muhammad Akbar v. Shazia Bibi, PLD 2014 SC 693).

What if the husband marries again?

A husband who marries again without the permission of the Arbitration Council must pay his existing wife's entire dower at once, prompt and deferred (section 6(5) MFLO; Muhammad Jamil v. Mst. Sajida Bibi, PLD 2020 SC 613; Dr. Seema Hanif Khan v. Waqas Khan, PLD 2026 SC 91). It is also a statutory ground for dissolution, so she does not need to seek khula (Dr. Faryal Maqsood v. Khurram Shehzad Durrani, PLD 2025 SC 262).

Dower in gold

  • Once the wife shows the gold was fixed, the husband must prove he delivered it (Syed Nobahar Shah v. Mst. Salma Bibi, 2016 CLC 1668 Peshawar).
  • Gold must be delivered in kind, not replaced by cash (Abid Ullah v. Mst. Bibi Naseem, 2015 YLR 1646 Peshawar).
  • If it is not delivered, its value is taken at the market rate. The Peshawar High Court used the rate on the date of decision (Noshad Ali v. Mst. Afzanat Rauf, 2013 CLC 492 Peshawar); the Supreme Court has since allowed the current market value at execution (Shafqat Ali v. Mst. Zaib un Nisa, 2026 SCMR 494).
  • If the husband's family snatched the gold, he is liable, but the snatching must be specifically pleaded (Fahad Khan v. Mst. Farukh Tabbassum, 2021 MLD 109 Peshawar).

Dower in property

  • Property named in the nikahnama belongs to the wife absolutely (Ajab Gul v. Rahim Gul, 1991 SCMR 2500), and transfers made behind her back do not defeat her ownership (Sajid Hussain v. ADJ Vehari, PLD 2026 SC 371).
  • Property of a third person binds only if that owner consented. A mother-in-law who did not sign is not liable (Fawad Ishaq v. Mst. Mehreen Mansoor, PLD 2020 SC 269), but a surety who signed is (Gul Akbar v. Jameela Afridi, PLD 2016 Peshawar 109).
  • Where a house is not properly described but its value is stated, that value is decreed (Dr. Asma Ali v. Masood Sajjad, PLD 2011 SC 221).

Limitation and the right court

The suit must be filed within three years of demand and refusal, or of dissolution if no demand was made during the marriage (Shaheen Bibi v. Jehanzeb, 2022 MLD 1929 Peshawar). Execution is not time-barred while the marriage subsists (Syed Muhammad v. Zeenat, PLD 2001 SC 128). The Family Court decides all dower claims, including claims to immovable property (Sifat Aizdi v. Dr. Saima Bashir, PLD 2008 Peshawar 111).

What happens to dower on khula?

Khula must be the wife's own election, and with it she gives up the dower (Ibrahim Khan v. Mst. Saima Khan, PLD 2024 SC 645). Where cruelty or a second marriage is proved, she keeps it (Mst. Naila Javed v. Nasir Khan, PLD 2026 SC 302). Since Mst. Selab Akhtar v. Quwat Khan (2026 SCMR 1717), her dower cannot be treated as surrendered without her informed election. In Peshawar the amount to be returned on khula is decided case by case (Mst. Sarwat Begam v. Farmanullah, PLD 2012 Peshawar 164).

Dower is not dowry

Bridal gifts and presents belong to the bride absolutely (Muhammad Sajid v. Mst. Shamsa Asghar, PLD 2025 SC 461). Gold given over and above the dower is a gift and cannot be reclaimed on khula (Zahid Akhtar v. Mst. Saima Zia, 2021 YLR 570 Peshawar).

Proving the dower, and proving payment

  • Photocopies, without the original nikahnama, the nikah khawan, the registrar or witnesses, have failed (Mst. Safina Noor v. Muhammad Ayub, 2023 CLC 244 Peshawar).
  • Admissions decide cases: a wife's admission of payment defeated her claim (Riffat Ullah v. Mst. Hadia Mustafa, 2023 MLD 1237 Peshawar).
  • An old document is not presumed genuine merely because of its age (Muhammad Israr v. Jehanzeb, 2025 SCMR 841).

Practical checklist: for the wife

  • Plead each item of dower separately: cash, tolas of gold, and property with its boundaries and value.
  • Produce the original nikahnama, and plead any snatching of gold specifically.
  • Join every surety and third-party owner of property promised in dower.
  • Plead cruelty or a second marriage before relying on khula.

Practical checklist: for the husband

  • Prove payment with receipts or the wife's admissions.
  • Do not admit fixation of dower in the written statement unless it is true.
  • Plead any return of dower in the written statement itself.

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This article is general information on the law, not advice on your own case. Time limits can matter, so speak to an advocate promptly about your own matter.