the bride's financial independence from her parents and in many cases from her husband, who has no legal claims to his wife's mahr.

The terms "dowry" and "bride price" are sometimes incorrectly used to translate mahr, but mahr differs from dowries in many other cultures. A dowry traditionally refers to money or possessions a woman brings forth to the marriage, usually provided by her parents or family; bride price refers to money or property paid by the groom or his family