The mahr of al-hoor al-‘iyn
Question

                Is it true that the pebbles and crumbs in the mosque are a symbol of the dowry of the hoor al-‘iyn?.
Praise be to Allah.Firstly: 
There is no saheeh hadeeth 
    that defines the mahr of the hoor al-‘iyn. Everything that has been narrated 
    concerning that is either very weak (da’eef jiddan) or fabricated (mawdoo’), 
    A summary of what has been narrated concerning that from six of the Sahaabah 
    follows: 
1-
It was narrated in a 
    marfoo’ report from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) that he said: 
    “How many of the hoor al-‘iyn have a mahr that is no more than a handful of 
    wheat or dates.” 
This was narrated by 
    al-‘Aqeeli (1/42) and from him by Ibn al-Jawzi in al-Mawdoo’aat 
    (3/253) and Ibn Hibbaan in al-Majrooheen (1/98). Ibn al-Jawzi said: 
    The one who is accused is Abaan. Abu Haatim Ibn Hibbaan said: Abaan ibn 
    al-Muhbir narrated from trustworthy narrators things that are not their 
    ahaadeeth, so as to confuse even those who have great knowledge. It is not 
    permissible to narrate from him except by way of giving an example of a 
    false hadeeth. He is the one who narrated this hadeeth from Naafi’ and it is 
    baatil (false). al-Daaraqutni said: Abaan is matrook (i.e., his hadeeth is 
    to be ignored). End quote. 
Ibn Abi Haatim said in 
    al-‘Ilal (no. 641): My father said: This is a baatil hadeeth. This Abaan 
    is majhool (unknown) and da’eef al-hadeeth. End quote. 
Shaykh al-Albaani said in
    al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah (no. 571): It is mawdoo’ (fabricated). 
2-
He also narrated a hadeeth 
    from Abu Hurayrah: “The mahr of the hoor al-‘iyn is a handful dates and a 
    piece of bread.” 
This was narrated by Ibn 
    ‘Adiyy in al-Kaamil (5/25) and by Ibn al-Jawzi in al-Mawdoo’aat 
    (3/253). He said: The one who is accused is ‘Umar ibn Subh. Ibn Hibbaan 
    said: He used to fabricate ahaadeeth from trustworthy narrators. It is not 
    permissible to write down his hadeeth except by way of highlighting its 
    strangeness. End quote. 
3-
Another hadeeth which is 
    well known among people but is not saheeh is that which is attributed to 
    Anas: “Sweeping the mosque is the mahr of al-hoor al-‘iyn.” 
This was narrated by 
    al-Daylami in Musnad Firdaws (no. 4896) and Ibn al-Jawzi in 
    al-Mawdoo’aat (3/253). He said: Its isnaad contains narrators who are 
    majhool (unknown), and ‘Abd al-Waahid is not thiqah (trustworthy). This was 
    also stated by Yahya. Al-Bukhaari, al-Fallaas and al-Nasaa’i said: He is 
    matrook al-hadeeth (i.e., his hadeeth is to be rejected). End quote. Shaykh 
    al-Albaani judged it to be fabricated in al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah (no. 
    4147). 
4-
It is narrated from ‘Ali 
    ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet  (peace 
    and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: “O ‘Ali, give the hoor 
    al-‘iyn their mahrs: remove harmful things from the road, and take rubbish 
    out of the mosque, for that is the mahr of al-hoor al-‘iyn.” 
This was narrated by 
    al-Daylami in Musnad al-Firdaws (no. 8335) and Ibn Shaheen in 
    al-Targheeb fi Fadaa’il al-A’maal (no. 535). In Kanz al-‘Ummaal 
    (16/229) it is attributed to Ibn al-Najjaar. The isnaad of Ibn Shaheen 
    includes al-Ma’aafa ibn Mutahhar and Muwarra’ ibn Jubayr, but I could not 
    find any biography for them, except a few words by Ibn Makula in 
    al-Ikmaal (7/263). 
5-
It was also narrated from 
    Abu Umaamah that the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah 
    be upon him) said: “Handfuls of dates for the poor are the mahrs of al-hoor 
    al-‘iyn.” 
This was narrated by 
    al-Daylami in al-Firdaws (no. 4645 and Ibn al-Jawzi in 
    al-Mawdoo’aat (3/253). In Jaami’ al-Ahaadeeth (no. 15093), 
    al-Suyooti attributed it to al-Daaraqutni in al-Afraad. 
Ibn al-Jawzi said: It was 
    narrated only by Talhah ibn al-Wadeen. Al-Sa’di said: al-Wadeen is a weak 
    narrator. al-Nasaa’i said: Talhah is matrook (i.e., to be rejected). Ibn 
    Hibbaan said: It is not permissible to narrate from him. End quote. 
Al-Albaani judged it to be 
    fabricated in al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah (no. 6197). 
6-
A hadeeth about the mahr of 
    al-hoor al-‘iyn was narrated from Abu Qursaafah, whose name was Jandarah: 
    “Taking rubbish out of the mosque is the mahr of al-hoor al-‘iyn.” 
This was narrated by 
    al-Tabaraani (3/19), Ibn ‘Asaakir in Tareekh Dimashq (5/110), Abu 
    Bakr al-Shaafa’i in al-Fawaa’id (2/23/2) and Ibn Mandah in 
    al-Ma’rifah (2/259, no. 6340). In al-Durr al-Manthoor (4/144), 
    al-Suyooti attributed it to Abu Bakr al-Shaafa’i in his Rubaa’iyaat. 
    Al-Bayhaqi said in Majma’ al-Zawaa’id (2/113): Its isnaad includes 
    majhool (unknown) narrators. End quote. Shaykh al-Albaani said in 
    al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah (no. 1675): This isnaad is “dark” (i.e., it has 
    many unknown narrators), other than Abu Qursaafah they have no mention in 
    any of the books of men’s biographies, apart from Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn 
    Qutaybah, who is proven to be a hafiz and trustworthy. End quote. 
To sum up, there is no 
    saheeh hadeeth which defines the mahr of al-hoor al-‘iyn, hence Ibn al-Jawzi 
    (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Mawdoo’aat (3/254): 
This hadeeth is not saheeh 
    in any of its isnaads. End quote. 
Secondly: 
The true mahr of al-hoor 
    al-‘iyn is every good deed that brings one closer to Allaah, and is the 
    cause of entering Paradise. 
Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have 
    mercy on him) said in al-Tadhkirah fi Ahwaal al-Mawtaa wa Umoor 
    al-Aakhirah (p. 556): 
Chapter on what is narrated 
    about righteous deeds being the mahr of al-hoor al-‘iyn. 
In this chapter he narrated 
    some of the ahaadeeth quoted above, then he said: 
Muhammad ibn al-Nu’maan 
    al-Muqari said: 
I was sitting with al-Jala 
    al-Muqari in Makkah in al-Masjid al-Haraam, when a tall, lean-bodied old man 
    dressed in rags passed by. Al-Jala got up and stood with him for a while, 
    then came back to us and said: Do you know who this old man is? We said: No. 
    He said: He bought from Allaah a hoor al-‘iyn for four thousand khatmahs 
    (readings of the entire Qur’aan) and when he had completed it, he saw her in 
    a dream, wearing her jewellery and finery. He said: Who are you? She said: I 
    am al-hoor whom you bought from Allaah with four thousand khatmahs; this is 
    the price, what will I get from you? He said: One thousand khatmahs. Al-Jala 
    said: He is still working on that. 
It was narrated from 
    Sahnoon that he said: There was a man in Egypt called Sa’eed, and he had a 
    mother who was a devoted worshipper. When he got up at night to pray qiyaam, 
    his mother would pray behind him, and if he grew sleepy his mother would 
    call out to him: O Sa’eed! There is no sleep for the one who fears Hell and 
    wants to marry the beautiful hoor al-‘iyn. So he would get up out of alarm. 
     
It was narrated from 
    Thaabit that he said: My father was one of those who prayed qiyaam to Allaah 
    in the depths of the night. He said: Last night I saw in my dream a woman 
    who did not resemble the women of this world. I said to her: Who are you? 
    She said: A hoor al-‘iyn, a female slave of Allaah. I said to her: Give 
    yourself to me in marriage. She said: Propose to me through your Lord and 
    give me a mahr. I said: What is your mahr? She said: Lengthy tahajjud. 
Maalik ibn Dinar said: I 
    had sections of the Quraan that I would read every night. I fell asleep one 
    night and in my dream I saw a beautiful girl, with a piece of vellum in her 
    hand. She said: Can you read? I said: Yes. She gave me the piece of vellum 
    and on it was written these lines of poetry:
 You are wasting your time 
    in sleeping rather than seeking high goals
And seeking beautiful hoor 
    al-‘iyn in Paradise.
There in Paradise you will 
    have an eternal life and no death
And you will have delight 
    with the beautiful hoor ‘iyn in splendid pavilions.
Wake up from your sleep, 
    for what is better than sleeping is spending the night reciting the 
    Qur’aan. 
End quote. 
Something similar was said 
    by Ibn Rajab in his essay Ikhtiyaar al-Oola (p. 12) and in 
    Lataa’if al-Ma’aarif (p. 159). 
See also question no.
    10053 about al-hoor al’-iyn.  
With regard to cleaning the 
    mosque, it is something that is recommended, and there is a great deal of 
    evidence which encourages that and speaks of its virtue. This has been 
    discussed on our website in the answer to question no.
    20160. 
And Allaah knows best.