This article is from the series : http://whytheshariah.blogspot.com/search/label/Women%20in%20Islam
Al-Haafidh Ibn Hajr (rahimahullaah) said:
Al-Haafidh Ibn Hajr (rahimahullaah) said:
987: Narrated Naafi` from Ibn `Umar (radiyallaahu `anhumaa) who said:
"Allaah’s Messenger (salallaahu `alaihi wassallam) prohibited ‘shighaar’ – and ‘shighaar’ is when a man gives his daughter in marriage on the condition that the other man gives to him, his daughter in marriage in exchange without any dowry being paid by either.”
[Ref: Reported by Bukhaaree, no. 5112. Muslim, no. 1415, 57. And Bukhaaree (6960) said that the explanation of the meaning of ‘shighaar’ was from Naafi`. ]
The beauty of this prohibition is that this would prevent making women as a tool for fulfiling personal desires. As is known widely that back then not only people used to marry very early compared to today but also be grandfathers at a very early age. So this prohibition in Islam prevented fathers from marrying their daughter off to another man in lust of acquiring his daughter in exchange; Thereby protecting the women from exploitation
