# Taking khula? You do not lose all your mehr. > Many women are told khula means giving everything back. In Punjab the law puts a ceiling on it. - Topic: Family - For: Citizens - A 8-slide carousel: https://failegal.site/media/taking-khula-you-do-not-lose-all-your-mehr - Published by FAI Legal on 2026-10-10 ## Mehr is her right. If the nikah nama does not say how the dower is paid, the whole amount is payable on demand. > "Where no details about the mode of payment of dower are specified in the nikah nama, or the marriage contract, the entire amount of the dower shall be prescribed to be payable on demand." (Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 · Section 10) ## Khula in Punjab: a fixed limit. If reconciliation fails, the Family Court must pass the decree at once. What she may be asked to give back has a ceiling. > "in case of dissolution of marriage through khula, may direct the wife to surrender up to fifty percent of her deferred dower or up to twenty-five percent of her admitted prompt dower to the husband." (Family Courts Act 1964 (Punjab) · Section 10(5)) ## What that means for you. The court may order it. It is a limit, not an automatic loss. - **Deferred dower** At most 50% can be ordered back to the husband. - **Admitted prompt dower** At most 25% can be ordered back. - **The rest is hers** The court directs the husband to pay outstanding deferred dower (s.10(6)). ## Divorce on other grounds? When a marriage is dissolved under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939, her dower rights stay. > "Nothing contained in this Act shall affect any right which a married woman may have under Muslim law to her dower or any part thereof on the dissolution of her marriage." (Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 · Section 5) ## Outside Punjab? Check your text. Provinces have amended this section differently. The federal text reads another way. - **Punjab** Up to 50% of deferred or 25% of admitted prompt dower (s.10(5)). - **Federal text** Court restores to the husband the haq mehr received at the time of marriage (s.10(4) proviso). ## Check your case. Free. Ask FAI in your own words. It answers with the exact section for your province and the judgments behind it. - **I want khula in Lahore. How much of my mehr can the court take back?** - **My husband never paid my mehr. Can I claim it after divorce?** ## What this does not mean - The 50 percent and 25 percent ceiling is the Punjab text of s.10(5). The federal text reads differently. - It is a limit, not an automatic loss. The court may order up to that much back, not more. - Dissolution under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 does not affect her dower rights (s.5). ## Questions people ask ### Does a wife have to return haq mehr in khula in Pakistan? Not all of it in Punjab. The Family Court may direct her to give back up to 50 percent of her deferred dower or up to 25 percent of her admitted prompt dower (Family Courts Act, Punjab, s.10(5)). ### How much haq mehr can the court take back in khula in Punjab? At most 50 percent of deferred dower, or at most 25 percent of admitted prompt dower. It is a ceiling the court may order, not an automatic loss. ### What happens to unpaid deferred mehr after khula? The court directs the husband to pay the outstanding deferred dower (s.10(6), Punjab). ### What is the khula rule on mehr outside Punjab? Provinces have amended this section differently. The federal text says the court restores to the husband the haq mehr received at the time of marriage (s.10(4) proviso). ### Does divorce under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act affect mehr? No. Section 5 of the 1939 Act says nothing in it affects her right to dower under Muslim law when the marriage is dissolved. ## Sources - Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 · Section 10: Dower - Family Courts Act 1964 (Punjab) · Section 10(5): Pre-trial proceedings - Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 · Section 5: Rights to dower not to be affected --- Educational legal information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. Speak to a qualified lawyer about your situation. Review status: Pending advocate review. FAI Media is part of FAI Legal (https://failegal.site), research on Pakistani statutes and judgments. Free to watch and read.