Sheikh Muhammad ibn Al-Mukhtar Ash-Shanqiti, President of the Islamic Association of Lubbock, Texas, US, states the following: “The Mahr is the right of the woman; it is an obligation upon her husband. In principle, she can forgive it, but if the husband feels that she forgives it out of shyness, he has no right to accept that because there is a rule in Islamic jurisprudence that states that Al-Ma’khoodhu hayaa’an kal ma’khoodhi ghasban or “whatever is taken out of shyness is similar to whatever has been taken by force”. This statement is applicable to the case of Mahr more than anything else, because Allah Almighty says about Mahr: “And give the women (on marriage) their dower as a free gift; but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you, Take it and enjoy it with right good cheer.” (An-Nisa’: 4)
According to this verse, it is not enough for the woman to forgive any part of the Mahr only by words, the husband has to make sure that she is serious about her saying, because the verse says “if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you.”