Iddah (the waiting period)

A period set by the Law

The idda is the waiting period imposed on a woman after the marriage ends or the husband dies. The Quran imposes it: "Divorced women keep a waiting of three cycles" (al-Baqara 228), "those who no longer expect cycles: three months; those who never had cycles, and the pregnant: their term is delivering" (at-Talaq 4), "those who die leaving wives: they keep four months and ten days" (al-Baqara 234). The Sunna details it, notably through the report of Umm Habiba and Zaynab bint Jahsh: "It is not lawful for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn beyond three nights, except for a husband: four months and ten days".

Three categories of women

The mawsua keeps the following division: the woman separated before consummation has neither waiting period nor return; the revocably divorced woman waits three cycles, the only case where the Quran counts by cycles; the woman separated definitively, by final divorce, death or khul', waits one cycle, while the husband can no longer return. The woman of particular cases, like the fornicator, follows under one retained view a single purification cycle.

The lengths by case

• revocably divorced: three cycles, or three months if cycles no longer come;
• finally divorced and not pregnant: one purification cycle;
• pregnant: the end of her pregnancy, for every type of divorce, by the scholars' agreement;
• widow not pregnant: four months and ten days, whether the marriage was consummated, young or old, by the consensus reported by Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Rushd;
• if the husband dies during the waiting of a revocable divorce, she drops that period and starts the full widowhood period: four months and ten days if she is not pregnant, by consensus.

The widow's mourning

The widow adds to the period the mourning (ihdad): no perfume, no adornment, no festive clothing, beyond three nights, except for a husband: four months and ten days (al-Bukhari 1222 ; Muslim 1486). All scholars agree on this mourning for the widow of a valid marriage, before or after consummation. The wisdom, reported by Ibn al-Qayyim: keeping gazes away during a sensitive period; no mourning falls on the man when his wife dies, by consensus. The woman of the Book married to a Muslim: the Hanafis and Malik excuse her from mourning, which is a devotional act.

Practical note

The idda protects lineage, leaves a door open for return, and honors the tie that ended. Its length depends on the case: counting it with a scholar avoids mistakes, and the widow's mourning is lived serenely, not in excess.