Is the wife obligated to return the dowry to her husband after khulʿ and a prior agreement not to return any of it, and after four years have passed since the khulʿ?

Disputes and disagreements cannot be resolved by a fatwa issued remotely. Their resolution rests with the Sharia judiciary or with an arbiter mutually agreed upon by the spouses.

The validity of khul' (divorce at the wife's instance) without compensation is a matter of scholarly disagreement, with the majority holding that it is invalid. One group of scholars, including Imam Malik and one narration from Imam Ahmad, deem it valid, considering it a dissolution of marriage, similar to talaq (pronouncement of divorce by the husband). Another group, including Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Al-Shafi'i, and another narration from Imam Ahmad, believe that it is not valid without compensation. If it is without compensation and the husband intended it as a divorce, then it is considered a divorce; otherwise, it is nothing.

If the wife agrees to return the dowry to the husband, there is no objection. Otherwise, the matter must be presented to the Sharia court or to trusted scholars.