Editing Mahr (section)

==Etymology and history==
The word ''Mahr'' is related to the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word “Mohar” and the [[Syriac language|Syriac]] word "Mahrā", meaning “bridal gift”, which originally meant “purchase-money”. The word implies a gift given voluntarily and not as a result of a contract, but in Muslim religious law it was declared a gift which the bridegroom has to give the bride when the contract of marriage is made and which becomes the property of the wife.<ref name=EI2/>
 
Among pre-Islamic Arabs, a ''bride price'' called ''Mahr'' was an essential condition for a legal marriage. The ''Mahr'' was given to the guardian (''Wali'') of the bride, such as her father, brother or another relative. In earlier times, the bride received no portion of the ''Mahr''.<ref name=EI2/> 

Some scholars believe that in the period shortly before Muhammad, the ''Mahr'', or at least a part of it, was already given to the bride.<ref name=EI2/> A few others regard its transformation into wife's property as a "revolutionary" Quranic innovation,<ref name=EoQ-281>{{Cite encyclopedia|author=Harald Motzki | year= 2006 | title=Marriage and divorce|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān|editor=Jane Dammen McAuliffe|volume=3|page=281|publisher=Brill}}</ref> however, this is pre-dated by a similar historical transition of the equivalent Jewish “mohar.”

In the [[book of Deuteronomy]] of the [[Hebrew Bible]], a betrothed couple became accountable to the law against [[adultery]], a concept known as [[erusin]], violation of which was also punishable by death though not fully considering them as married.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|22:23|HE}}</ref> One view is that the betrothal was effected simply by purchasing the girl from her father (or guardian). This price paid for her is known by the Hebrew term ''mohar'' ({{Script/Hebrew|מוהר}}).<ref name="Genesis3412">{{bibleverse||Genesis|34:12|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Exodus|22:16-17|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|20:7|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|22:29|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Hosea|2:19-20|HE}}</ref>  

It was customary in [[biblical times]] for the Jewish bride and her father to be given parts of the ''mohar''.<ref name="JewEncMar">{{Jewish Encyclopedia|article=marriage|url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=M&artid=213}}</ref> Gradually, as in Islam, it lost its original meaning, and the custom arose of giving the ''mohar'' entirely to the bride rather than her father.