All praise is due only to Allaah. We laud Him and beseech His

One of the many evils that have crept up amongst 
our societies nowadays is that people regard a woman 
taking 
mehr
as a defect and blemish.
People even regard 
taking their share in inheritance as debasing. This is why they 
(reluctantly) forgive these monies and forego their rights, 
deeming it to be necessary. They feel that if they do not do so 
then society will look down upon them. The Ulama must make 
a concerted effort to eradicate such beliefs in their respective 
societies and stress on the rights of women insofar as their 
mehr
and inheritance is concerned. If they wish to forgive and 
relinquish these rights, then it should told to them to take the 
money and keep it with them for a period of time, whereafter, if 
they still wish, then they can give it back. In this way, they 
cannot be forced to do anything. 
5). 
Another flaw in societies nowadays is that if a 
woman dies without her 
mehr
having been given to her 
during her lifetime, then this amount is devoured and not 
counted amongst her estate.
The actual Shar`i ruling is that if 
a woman has to pass away before having left her parent’s home 
for her husband’s and before they had spent any time in 
seclusion, then ½ 
mehr
is binding on the husband. If the couple 
had enjoyed even a few minutes in 
khalwat-e-saheeha
(isolation where they were all alone), and if the wife passes 
away after this, then the full 
mehr
is binding on the husband. 
This 
mehr
amount must be included in her estate and shared 
accordingly amongst her heirs. This ruling can be enquired 
from the Ulama. 
It is customary amongst our societies and has become the norm 
where if a wife passes away whilst she is with her in-laws, then 
they keep all her estate (possessions) and do give her rightful 
heirs any share thereof, and if she passes away whilst in her 
parent’s home then they keep all her possessions and do not 

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amount for 
mehr
, but to regard this as being a token of one’s 
dignity and honour is crass ignorance.