Islam guides that it is the men who must give Mahr (dower) to women; dowry should not be demanded from women.
This is the rational and fair ruling.
In married life, both the man and the woman experience happiness. Since both derive pleasure from one another, strictly speaking, neither is obligated to give anything to the other.
However, women make greater sacrifices and bear heavier burdens to achieve this happiness. Therefore, it is just for men to give to women.
After marriage, the man remains in his own home, living with his parents and relatives. In contrast, the woman—often younger than him—leaves behind her own parents and kin to move into her husband's home. In recognition of this sacrifice, men ought to provide for women.
After marriage, the husband performs no specific domestic chores for his wife; at most, he assumes responsibility for her living expenses. Women, however, shoulder numerous burdens: cooking, washing clothes, maintaining the household, and serving not only the husband but also his relatives. Some women must additionally endure mistreatment from their mothers-in-law. For these reasons, too, men should provide for women.
When a woman conceives, the man bears no physical hardship or burden; it is the woman who suffers. She endures morning sickness that makes eating difficult and struggles with basic movements like walking or lying down. Furthermore, she faces the very threshold of death during childbirth. For this reason alone, even giving her a fortune would not be enough.
After the child is born, the father does nothing for the baby. She bears numerous burdens—nursing, soothing, and keeping sleepless watch over the child. For this very reason, it is only fair that men provide Mahr (dower) to women.
When children are born in quick succession, a woman often reaches a point where she sacrifices the prime years of her life.
No humane person can deny that men ought to provide for women.
The Evils of Dowry
The cruel practice of demanding dowry leads to numerous harmful consequences. Both those who demand dowry and those who support the practice share the blame for these adverse effects.
Due to dowry demands, women who yearn for a married life from the age of fifteen often find themselves unmarried even as they approach thirty.
Consequently, some women run away from home or fall victim to deception.
Many are even driven into prostitution. Those who accepted the dowry certainly bear a share of the guilt for these sins.
There is a rising number of women taking their own lives because they cannot find a marriage partner; in some cases, the parents of the woman commit mass suicide along with her. Those who demand dowry share the culpability for this sin as well.
If a woman runs off with a random man because she cannot find a husband, the other women in her family may also lose the chance to get married. Those who demand dowry bear responsibility for this situation too.
Those who foresee the dowry system and its harmful consequences kill their own infant daughters immediately after birth. Others, upon discovering through scans that the fetus is female, end its life in the womb. Those who demand dowry become complicit in this heinous act.
A man who once lived with dignity is forced to go from village to village begging for alms simply because he fathered a daughter; this sin, too, will not spare those who demand dowry.
With no outlet for the emotions that arise during adolescence, many young women succumb to mental illness. Those who demand dowry share in the guilt of this cruelty as well.
By accepting dowry—a practice that embodies a multitude of evils—people effectively reserve a place for themselves to face punishment for all these sins. If there were even the slightest fear of standing before the Almighty to face divine judgment, no one would ever demand a dowry.