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Fatwa CenterDamaged Due To Normal Wear And Tear
Question
Dear MuftiMy husband died unexpectedly last month in Brazil.In his life we lived in an apartment which we rented from his friend.We lived there for a year and furniture was not top quality so went through tear and some other things were a bit damaged.My husband told the owner he will pay him for damages but the owner was rude person and sent us a court order and demaded alot of money. WE hired a lawyer and she realized the contract we hás with him was faulty and according to law we dont have to pay him.However when my husband died i was worried about it and i contacted the owner through Friends and told him i will pay for damages.The owner started demanding a ridiculus amount of money so people in Brazil told me not to pay him because he is not being fair and they were Also scared he might want to take this to court again.The problem is i have returned to Pakistan but i dont want any court case because my son is Brazilian and i dont want to create any problema for him.I asked the owner for forgiveness for my husband though.Please advise me what i should do since i am in Pakistan and i dont have the amount of money he hás asked For But i dont want my husband to suffer in grave either?Acording to legal system of Brazil i dobt have to pay him but i am worried about court of Allah.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
The tenant is entrusted with the leased property, but he does not guarantee what is damaged in it unless it is the result of his abuse or negligence.
Al-Shirbeeni 
said in Mughni Al-Muhtaaj: “The confirmed opinion is that the tenant is entrusted for whatever is leased, be it an animal, clothes, or else, throughout the period of rent; so he does not guarantee whatever is damaged from them unless he is negligent.”
Therefore, if the furniture was damaged due to the usual use (normal wear and tear) without any abuse or negligence, then there is no guarantee on you, and you are not Islamically required to pay anything to the landlord.
However, if the damage was due to any abusive usage or negligence, then you have to pay for the loss of furniture, and this should be estimated by the experts in the field.
This amount should be paid from your husband's inheritance before it is divided. However, if he did not leave any inheritance, or the inheritance is not sufficient to compensate for that, then you are not obliged to pay the compensation. Nonetheless, if you want to acquit your husband from any sin, as a way of donation from you, then you may pay to the owner of the apartment the value of what is damaged according to reasonable limits.
Allah knows best.
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