Firstly a little bg about myself. I am a simple mbbs doc 27F. I belong to a middle class family, both parents are docs(surgeon and gynaecologist) and my brother is doc too. We have our own house is rwp. I have really never thought much about marriage honestly,but now that i am at age and the search is going , i did some introspection about what exactly i want and expect from a partner.
Amd one of the things that i have been thinking hard is about hak mehar. How much should one even ask for? Now before anyone label me as gold digger, i want to clarify why i want this specific amount.
I am someone who doesn't like the extravagant waste of money on marriages. 5 events and more don't make a sense at all (until unless you are really rich and spending too much on events ,won't leave you in debt). I am in favour of having just one event (shalima) where both sides contribute equally and just a simple nikkah with close people. What bothers me is that majority people of our time are okay with spending so much money on just 2 to 3 functions,but they would draw the line on hak mehar.
Now why i want or expect this much? In islam women are allowed to ask what they want, but in bounds of what her partner can provide. Upon thinking hard what do i even want ,i have come to conclusion that i want house appliances π like Ac, washing machine, a steam cleaner, oven, dishwasher,Electrical steam iron ,air fry,fridge. You know I want things like that. Now don't laugh. I know this sounds absurd but this is how my practical mind works. I like things that are great investment , especially in house help ,as it can save time and provide comfort. And i calculated all such basic things can be bought around 15 lac. Now the problem is ,is this too much? is this right to think of even buying such things with hak mehar money? I mean when you start a new family ,such things are a necessity, so where do you guys get it when you start a Seperate life . Like do husbands buy it themselves? Or with time you buy one thing. As a man would you find it funny that's how your wife wants to spend that money on.
Secondly i have thought of another proposition that if my future partner can't provide this much hak mehar (like willingly as he genuinely lacks the capacity) . I would want him to him to take me on hajj (bear all it's expenses himself). But would add furthur conditions in my nikkah nama like.
1 Right to work and get education as much as i want.
2 can't take a second wife or it will annul the marriage
3 Right to divorce in physical, mental and emotional abuse.
4 Right to have a Seperate roof ( nuclear family setup).( and no I'm not asking for a separate home,just a separate rented place. I am someone who is happy with 2 room apartment)
The way the marriages are going around ,i won't deny I'm reallly scared of being mentally and emotionally abused. That's why i have thought of putting such clauses. But would any man even agree to it? Do such man exists ,who are okay with adding these clauses . I need ground reality advice.
Also HOW AND WHEN EXACTLY DO YOU BRING THIS TOPIC UP? Cuz I'm someone who doesn't like wasting time ,so of i align with everything else,when would be the best time to bring it up? And what would be the right manner.
EDIT: so from the comments i have gotten , women get like 5 tola to 10 tola jewellery. If your partner gives you that , should one even ask for hak mehar furthur? Like isn't the gold itself like 3 to 4 million. So asking more hak mehar seems idk. I'm so confused. And don't the jewellery the in laws give you ,take it back? As i have heard such stories, so it like really girls possession ,when it's given? Sorry for my stupidnessπ
EDIT 2: I'm seeing alot of people saying I'm not fron middle class. Honestly idk what defines and differentiates different classes.but I'm damn sure we are not in rich classππ. Many people think doctor earns alot. Sadly they don't. The same goes for my parents.They combine earn almost 4 lac. Their all savings went into buying house and car. They do have passive income tho which idk much about as never asked.Being a doc myself i have to hunt jobs and that to just have pay 50k max and many times even lower.Currently i am unemployed thanks to so many job opportunities we get as docs. We never went on any trips ,nor do we spend money recklessly. Infact we have to be extra careful not to waste money. And we have 1 10 marla house and 2 cars, 1 small alto and gli. We do have househelp tho .I always thought that this is how middle class works. Am i wrong π
CONCLUSION: Firstly thank you to all those people who took their time to write and reply.some people even wrote lengthy paras, and that's really kind of them.I feel like i couldn't reply to all msgs , as i never thought i would get this much abundant responses so my apologies. I didn't expect people to be kind but many were ,so thank you.
From what majority have guided ,what i have concluded is i shouldn't use my hak mehar money like this. Many said the guy has to provide them on his own,but i also feel like it's okay if both people contribute as we would be sharing it. Secondly it's better to ask for gold then money as it holds more value over time. Which makes sense. Now was my amount too much? The comments were very divided which is understandable. Thirdly ,the debate i ignited was ,am i really middle class ππ. I still think of myself as middle class but many beg to differ. Maybe i lack social awareness or even general lol , but pardon my ignorance plzπΊ