And her nobility is by her lineage, yet her mother and maternal aunt are not equal to her in lineage, so they are not equal to her in nobility. It may be that her mother is a freedwoman (mawlah) while she is noble, or her mother may be Qurayshi while she is not Qurayshi. It is appropriate to consider the closest [relative] and then the next closest; the closest of her female agnates are her sisters, then her paternal aunts, then her paternal cousins, the closest and then the next closest. It is also considered that they be in a condition similar to hers in terms of their religion, intellect, beauty, wealth, virginity or non-virginity, purity of lineage, and everything for which the dower differs. It is also required that they be from the people of her town, because the customs of towns differ regarding the dower. These attributes were only taken into consideration because the dower of a peer is a substitute for something destroyed (mutlaf); therefore, the attributes intended therein were considered. If there is no one among her agnates who is in a condition similar to hers, then one looks to the women among her cognate relatives (arham), such as her mother, her grandmothers, her maternal aunts, and their daughters. If there is no one, then the women of her town; if there is no one, then the women of the nearest towns to her. If one finds no one except someone below her status, she is increased [in dower] to the extent of her superiority, and if one finds no one except someone better than her, she is decreased to the extent of her deficiency.

Section: The dower of a peer is not due except as an immediate payment, because it is a substitute for something destroyed, so it resembles the values of destroyed property. It must be in the currency of the town, for the reason we mentioned. Blood money (diyah) is not subject to this, because it does not vary with the variation of the attributes of the destroyed [victim], as it is fixed by the Shari'a; thus, it is governed by the rules concerning immediate payment