What is Mahr?
2017 – Vancouver, Canada: The parties are of Iranian heritage. Wife had training in graphic design and esthetics. Husband is a mortgage broker and realtor. They were married on March 14, 2004 in a dual service in Canada, a civil one and one under Sharia law. In the Sharia marriage the Mahr * was set as “a volume of Holy Koran, a bunch of rose flower, a cluster of sugar crystal, a Ritual Pilgrimage Trip to Mecca (Hajj), five gold bullions of 24 karats equal to 5 kilogram [sic] of 24 karats gold, a pane of mirror, a pair of candelabrums, which are all being the husband’s liability and payable to the wife on demand.”. There was a dispute between the parties about the valuation of the gold referenced, Wife believed to be $270,000 and Husband $45,100. The Trial Court refused to enforce it for lack of expert testimony:
“[137] In summary, I am asked to choose between two valuations of the mehr in this case and the difference between them is $264,900. As well, I have not been given the information necessary to fully or properly assess each valuation. It is not a stretch to say that the decision making process with the evidence here is akin to flipping a coin. In my view it is self-evident that the evidence in this case is unsuitable for the kind of determinations sought by both parties. I decline to make those determinations. [138] If the parties wish a decision from this court on how a mehr is treated in Iranian law in the case of a divorce and the value of the mehr they will have to make an application to that effect. I acknowledge that the Rules on expert evidence only apply to a “trial.” However, given the wide differences between the parties about the valuation of the mehr and in light of the need for legitimate expert evidence on Iranian law, pursuant to s. 218 of the FLA and my inherent jurisdiction, I direct that any evidence on these issues must comply with the rules on expert evidence: Family Rules, Part 13. Again, the two issues requiring expert evidence are the valuation of a kilogram of gold and Iranian divorce law, in particular the valuation of a mehr as part of a divorce.”
More Here: https://canlii.ca/t/hnr0s.
* Mahr under Iranian Law means gift of Husband to Wife. Mehr means Love or affection. They are unrelated, but colloquially interchanged.
What is Mahr?
Under Islamic law, mahr is a gift from a Husband to his Wife. Iran mahr expert Abbas Hadjian, AAML, IAFL, CFLS of California provides testimony in U.S. cases involving mahr.
What is the difference between mehr and mahr?
Mehr means love or affection, but mahr under Islamic law is a gift required under a marriage contract, a gift of money or property from the husband to the wife.
