What happens to mahr if the couple divorces?

Mahr is the wife's exclusive financial right the moment nikah is concluded; divorce does not erase it, reduce it, or transfer it back to the husband. If the marriage was consummated, she keeps the full mahr without any condition or negotiation. If divorce happened before consummation, she is entitled to half the agreed mahr unless she willingly forgives it herself. Nobody, not the husband or her family, can pressure her into returning it, because Islam treats mahr as a debt the husband owes her, not a gift that can be taken back. The only exception is khul, where a wife initiates separation and voluntarily returns her mahr as part of that agreement. Her financial dignity was never his to take. Allah knows best.