He wrote a list of furnishings for her on condition that she lives with him without causing problems for one year

 

A an agreement has been written for a wife, signed by her husband with a condition that she will receive certain furniture after one year if she does not make problems for her husband. But she started creating troubles only after a month, always being in the wrong. What should the moderator who has kept the agreement do?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly: This list of furnishing must be one of two things: 

(i)               
It is part of the mahr (dowry),
as is done in some countries, so the mahr is what is given to the wife of
gold or cash, and what is written for her such as a list of furniture, and a
deferred payment may also be added to that. If this is the case, and this
list is part of the mahr, then it is an addition to the mahr that is based
on a condition, which is that the wife commits herself to live without
problems with the husband for a year. Making the addition to the mahr
conditional upon something is a matter concerning which there is a
difference of opinion among the fuqaha’. Some of them do not allow it, and
some of them do allow it. 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, in al-Sharh al-Mumti’
(12/268-270) was of the view that this condition is permissible if it serves
a valid purpose, and undoubtedly the good behaviour of the wife towards her
husband is a valid purpose. Based on that, this condition is valid and you
do not have to give her the list of furnishings because she did not fulfil
the condition. 

(ii)             
This list is not part of the
mahr, rather it is a gift from the husband which he has made conditional
upon the wife behaving properly and not causing any problems for a year. 

Giving a gift with conditions is valid, and it need not be
given unless the condition is met. This is the view favoured by Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him), as was narrated from
him in al-Insaaf (7/133). 

To sum up: The wife is not entitled to this list, because she
did not fulfil the condition, whether the list was part of the mahr or it
was a gift with conditions stipulated by the husband. 

But, if there is a dispute and the wife claims that she
fulfilled the condition, and that the shortcomings and transgression were on
the part of the husband, then in this case the matter should be referred to
the sharee’ah court, or to a man of knowledge who can judge between them and
settle the dispute. 

And Allaah knows best.