We reviewed request no. 1492 for the year 2005 which includes the following:

    I have a brother who promised his wife that they will perform their obligatory hajj together but passed away seven months before the hajj season. His wife went ahead with the plans and took her brother both as her mahram [unmarriageable male relative] and to perform hajj on behalf of my brother. She deducted the expenses of their hajj from my brother's estate, over which she had control, and before its division. Please note that my brother does not have any children but is survived by one full sister. Some Azhari scholars in our village explained to my brother's widow that her hajj expenses must be covered from her lawful share and not from the estate as a whole, but she refused. She likewise refused to commission one of our relatives living in Saudi Arabia to perform hajj on behalf of my brother. Please clarify the legal ruling for this.

     The woman mentioned in the question is not entitled to deduct the expenses of her hajj from her husband's estate before its division. She must return the sum she took without seeking the permission of the legal heirs because her late husband only promised her to take her on hajj—and a promise is not legally binding i.e. it cannot be used as evidence in a dispute. Had her husband been alive, he may have revoked his promise for any reason. Moreover, financial rights are not acknowledged unless they are established by determinant evidence, written or drawn up in the presence of witnesses.

    Allah Almighty knows best.