We have reviewed request 008 submitted on January 19th, 2008, which includes the following:

My husband passed away; he had [previously] written a registry of furnishings in the marital house (to be given as part of my mahr) and included some grams of gold as well. What is the ruling for this gold: is it to be estimated at its going price or its price when the registry was written? What is the ruling for the deferred bridal gift and the furnishings in the marital house?

The deferred bridal gift is a deferred debt owed by the husband to his wife, payable when either divorce or the death of either spouse occurs. The wife is entitled to all the furnishings in the marital house, including the electric appliances except for the husband's personal belongings such as his books, clothes, and weapons. All of these must be deducted from the estate before it is distributed among the inheritors; they are not included in the husband's estate because God Almighty says, "[In all cases, the distribution comes] after payment of any bequests or debts" (Quran 4:11). These articles are either a debt owed by the husband to his wife or her exclusive right, and she inherits her legal share of her husband's estate. The gold included in the registry of furnishings is a debt owed by the husband to his wife which she is to receive in weight.

Based on this, you are entitled to the entire sum of your deferred bridal gift, all the furnishings in the marital house except for the aforementioned articles, and the gold written in the registry of furnishings (in weight or its value at the going price, and not its price at the time the registry was written).

God Most High knows best.