Surah Al-Baqarah
وَإِن طَلَّقْتُمُوهُنَّ مِن قَبْلِ أَن تَمَسُّوهُنَّ وَقَدْ فَرَضْتُمْ لَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً فَنِصْفُ مَا فَرَضْتُمْ إِلَّآ أَن يَعْفُونَ أَوْ يَعْفُوَا۟ ٱلَّذِى بِيَدِهِۦ عُقْدَةُ ٱلنِّكَاحِ ۚ وَأَن تَعْفُوٓا۟ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ ۚ وَلَا تَنسَوُا۟ ٱلْفَضْلَ بَيْنَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
Wa in ṭallaqtumūhunna min qabli an tamassūhunna wa qad faraḍtum lahunna farīḍatan faniṣfu mā faraḍtum illā ay ya‘fūna au ya‘fuwal-lażī biyadihī ‘uqdatun-nikāḥ(i), wa an ta‘fū aqrabu lit-taqwā, wa lā tansawul-faḍla bainakum, innallāha bimā ta‘malūna baṣīr(un).
And if you divorce them before you have touched them and you have already specified for them an obligation, then [give] half of what you specified - unless they forego the right or the one in whose hand is the marriage contract foregoes it. And to forego it is nearer to righteousness. And do not forget graciousness between you. Indeed Allah, of whatever you do, is Seeing.
📝 Footnotes
74) What is meant by "the one in whose hand is the marriage tie" is either the husband or the guardian (wali). If the one who waives the dower (mahr) is the guardian, the husband is exempted from the obligation of paying half of the dower. If the husband is the one who waives it—meaning he commits to paying the full specified dower—then he must pay the dower in its entirety. However, the only guardian permitted to act in this manner is the wali mujbir (an authorized guardian), namely a guardian who has the right to compel a virgin daughter to marry, such as the biological father or paternal grandfather.