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A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
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93. No marriage may be contracted without payment of a dowry # 66 |
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The Synopsis and Codification, section IV.C.1.j.i.-v.,
summarizes the main provisions concerning the dowry.
These provisions have their antecedents in the Bayán.
208
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The dowry is to be paid by the bridegroom to the
bride. It is fixed at 19 mithqáls of pure gold for city-dwellers,
and 19 mithqáls of silver for village-dwellers (see
note 94). Bahá’u’lláh indicates that, if, at the time of the
wedding, the bridegroom is unable to pay the dowry in full,
it is permissible for him to issue a promissory note to the
bride (Q and A 39).
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With the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh many familiar
concepts, customs and institutions are redefined and take on
new meaning. One of these is the dowry. The institution of
dowry is a very ancient practice in many cultures and takes
many forms. In some countries it is a payment made by the
parents of the bride to the bridegroom; in others it is a
payment made by the bridegroom to the parents of the
bride, called a “bride-price”. In both such cases the amount
is often quite considerable. The law of Bahá’u’lláh abolishes
all such variants and converts the dowry into a symbolic act
whereby the bridegroom presents a gift of a certain limited
value to the bride.
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