Is the husband subject to sin or financial obligations regarding the maintenance of furniture owned by his wife, or compensating her for its unintentional damage, or replacing damaged tableware, especially since the furniture and tableware were placed for use by initial agreement between the two parties to share only the purchase price without addressing maintenance responsibility? Is the deferred dowry the only debt owed to the wife from the husband's estate after his death, or are there other debts related to shared expenses or gifts given by the wife?

If the furniture in the house is the wife's property, the husband is not permitted to use it except with her consent, and the majority of jurists hold this view. The wife usually allows her husband to use the furniture. If the husband damages it unintentionally, he is not liable; however, if he acts negligently, he is liable. The husband is not sinful for not maintaining the furniture if the wife wishes to sell it. He is not obligated to guarantee what the wife or guests have damaged, or what has been lost, nor is it taken from his inheritance if he dies.

The deferred dower (mu'akhkhar al-sadaq) is a debt owed by the husband and is taken from his estate for the wife. The husband is not liable for what he eats of the wife's food with her permission, or what she purchased for the house as a donation or gift. What the wife spent on herself, her children, or the house with the intention of claiming it back from the husband is a debt that is taken from his inheritance. Gifts that the wife gave to her husband and that he possessed before his death become his property and are distributed as part of his inheritance.