The dowry is a gift that God has given to woman and it has been discussed in various verses, but it has not been mentioned a certain amount for it. Whatever is cited for it is woman's right, and with her marriage, woman is owner of dowry, but ownership of half dowry is unstable. It is stabilized by becoming a partner or dying one of the couples or innate apostasy of man, but if it is not obtained factors of stabilization of dowry, she will be entitled to half of dowry; i.e., if the couples divorce before sexual intercourse or man apostatizes before sexual intercourse, she will be entitled to half of dowry. Also if one of the couples died before sexual intercourse, according to popular theory, she will be entitled to half of dowry; although according to unpopular theory, she will deserve all the dowry.

As one of the components of marriage, “marriage portion” is an ancient tradition among Muslims which follows particular customs and methods. Although this custom is from those sanctified by Islamic Shari’ah, it underwent some changes. Some changes such as the amount of marriage portion and its being the right of woman herself taken as a substitution for the previous customs. This custom was subject to changes rooted in the Muslims. Livelihood during various Islamic periods and underwent evolutions. With all the Islamic emphasizes and formation of Mahrulsonnah within the Islamic society and insistence on its moral nature, a clear pattern was never followed by the Muslims. Based on various reasons, this category was passed through a path full of ups and downs and some evolutions happened for it in the Islamic society. It has been attempted to indicate an image of this custom during the first two Islamic centuries which is, to some extent, Islamic tradition realization.

The dowry, as one of a wife’s financial rights, has an important place in Islam. The Holy Quran refers to this notion by using words such as sidaq and nihlah, which highlight a husband’s sincerity in making the marriage vow. In the Shia jurisprudence and also in Iran’s civil law, no limit has been set for the maximum amount that a wife’s dowry can have, leaving the amount to the couple’s agreement. Recent changes in the system of values, norms and beliefs have resulted in the dowry losing its original function and becoming excessively large. The increase in the amount of dowry has created functional and other problems in the family and the society. The main question addressed in the present paper is as to the place of a large dowry in the teachings of the religion. The study shows that, although no limit is set for the maximum amount of a wife’s dowry, a large dowry is considered as a disfavored matter. The reason for this disfavor is probably the adverse social consequences that large dowries bring to the person and the society. Islamic jurists have encouraged Muslims to prefer small dowries and to avoid demanding large dowries. The paper also suggests a number of ways for confronting and overcoming the problem.