The custom of dowry has become a great impediment to marriage in our society. The worst to suffer is the lower middle class. What does Islam have to say about it? Also, should parents give nothing to their daughter whom they intend to marry off?
Making marriage conditional upon dowry is no doubt a great social evil. As such, it is condemnable. It is really shameful if the bridegroom or his family demand dowry from the bride. This has indeed become a great hindrance to marriage. We see several girls going past their marriageable age because their families cannot meet this demand.
However, if the bride’s parents want to gift something to her on their own without any pressure from the other side, then this cannot be objected to. The only thing is that this should not become a show of wealth or pomposity whereby a wrong trend is set in the society, which, of course, would be detrimental for the deprived classes. An effective way to avoid making a display of such gifts is to give them much earlier or perhaps much later than the ceremony.