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Excess (mughalat) in dowry, shroud and worship

المُغَالاة

Mughalat means exaggeration: going beyond the proper measure in a thing. The jurists keep the technical sense close to the lexical one, and its opposite is cheapness. In dowry there is no fixed upper limit; the Malikis disliked a dowry that exceeds the usual amount for such a woman, and most jurists recommend a light dowry. For the shroud, exaggeration is disliked because of the hadith forbidding it; the term means more than the customary shroud, while good shroud is judged by whiteness and cleanliness rather than price. In worship the believer is to be moderate and avoid excess in religion; the lasting small act is preferred. 1 2 3 4

Depth

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Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
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Family, marriage and kinshipWorship and the pillars

Summary

Mughalat means exaggeration: going beyond the proper measure in a thing. Its opposite is cheapness. 1

Excess in the dowry

Most jurists set no fixed upper limit on the dowry. Umar ibn al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him) once forbade raising the dowry above four hundred dirhams and then withdrew the ruling. The Malikis disliked a dowry that exceeds what is customary for such a woman, and most jurists regard a light dowry as recommended. 2 3

Excess in the shroud

The jurists agree that exaggeration in the shroud is disliked, following the hadith that forbids it. Ibn Abidin takes it to mean more than the customary shroud; a good shroud is one that is white, clean and thick, not an expensive one. 3 4

Excess in worship

A Muslim should be moderate in obedience to God, avoid both excess and neglect, and not burden himself beyond his strength. A small act done steadily is better than intense effort followed by giving up. 3 4

People and things also explored

The sacrifice for a newborn (aqiqa): its ruling, age, animals and manner· Childhood (sighar: its stages, the rights and duties of the minor, guardianship, the minor in worship and contracts, marriage, testimony and penalties)· Shahwa (desire: its effect on touch and ablution, on fasting and pilgrimage, on looking, on marriage by touch and on the breaking of the marriage bond)· The male organ (dhakar) in the rulings· Shakk (doubt in law: its kinds, the rule that certainty is not removed by doubt, and its effect on worship, contracts, penalties and evidence)· Expiation (kaffara)· Para Pencari Tuhan· Taj Mahal

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.14800
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.14801
  3. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.14802
  4. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.14803
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Excess (mughalat) in dowry, shroud and worship”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/mughalat/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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The sacrifice for a newborn (aqiqa): its ruling, age, animals and manner

In the lexicon, aqiqa is the hair a child is born with, and it names the animal sacrificed for a newborn; as a term it is what is slaughtered for a newborn in thanks to God. It differs from the festival sacrifice in its time and place: it is slaughtered when the child is born, at any time of the year, whereas the sacrifice is made on the days of sacrifice. The Shafi'is and Hanbalis hold it a confirmed sunna and the Malikis recommended; the Hanafis allow it as a voluntary act in thanks. The Shafi'is ask it from a father who can afford it, and the majority hold it for a girl as well as a boy. The Hanafis and Malikis fix the time at the seventh day, while the Shafi'is and Hanbalis count from the child's complete birth; the Shafi'is and Hanbalis require livestock, two sheep for a boy and one for a girl, while the Hanafis and Malikis give one for each. It is recommended to cook it without breaking its bones, eat from it, give it as gifts and charity, and to pronounce the reported formula at slaughter.