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Another example is the Zainah marriage. the marriage of a man to the
womin taken captive by him. He had a right. even if she was. before
captivity. married to someone else. (According to the Arab practice),
captivity invalidated a man's rights to his wife.
The man in Jahiliyyah had the right to recall the dowry he paid
for his wife after her death. from her inheritance and if she did
not leave any wealth or possessions behind, he could ask her
family to return his dowry. Thai suggests that laws or customs
in pre-Islamic Arabia were in many aspects biased against women*
There is no evidence that there was a fixed amount of dowry at
that time; it depended. to a great extent. on the husband's
financial status. For example. the historical sources mentioned
that Abd al-Mutalib bin Histiam-gave F; timah bint a Amr one hundred
camels and one hundred pounds of gold as dowry.
The procedure for determining the amount of dowry was as follows:
the guardian of the bridegroom used to deliver a speech when they
went to ask the girl's guardian for her hand, in which he explained
all the aspects of the marriage agreement. and mentioned the dowry
The girl's guardian answered in a similar speech which contained
his acceptance of the bridegroom and his people. As it happened
with the Prophet Muhammed, when he went with his uncle, Abr T; lib.
asking for Khadijals hand, Abi Talib delivered the speech as the
guardian of Muhamad,
2 The ceremonies and customs of the wedding
-day were of great importance in pre-Islamic Arabia. On such an
occasions boys competed with each other. playing with spears.
racing horses. gambling (which was one of their favourite games)#
1. a Afrd'. al-Marlah al! Arabiyyah fr J; 7hiliyytih;
we IslZnih (The
Arabian Woman in her Jahiliyyah and Islam)s Vol. It P. 158
2. Ibn Hishýam. Vol. 1, P. 174.
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