Islamic Fiqh > Marriage and family > Iddah (waiting period)
Iddah by case: divorce (3 pure periods), death (4 months 10 days), pregnancy (until delivery), unconsummated wife, and residence during iddah.
The duration of the iddah depends on the case: three pure periods after divorce, four months and ten days after the husband's death, and until delivery in pregnancy (al-Baqara 234, at-Talaq 4). The widow stays in the home during her death iddah, without adornment, the house being maintained for her (al-Baqara 240). At the end of the iddah, remarriage is possible: a new contract with new mahr for the irreversibly divorced wife, no restriction for the widow.
Updated on 07 October 2026 at 6:42 PM
Bada'i al-Sana'i by al-Kasani · Hanafi school
...the waiting period ('idda) for the disbelieving woman, for our ruling applies to people under protection (dhimma), but our ruling does not apply to the woman in enemy territory. And there is no waiting period for the fornicator, whether pregnant or not, for from fornication does not follow the establishment of lineage.
Minah al-Jalil by al-Dardir · Maliki school
(Chapter) If an occasion (of a new period) occurs before the completion of a waiting period or purification (istibra), the first is annulled and a new one begins.
Chapter on the exposition of the rulings of the interlocking of waiting periods and purification.
Three cycles after divorce; 4 months and 10 days after death; in pregnancy: until delivery (sura al-Baqara 234, at-Talaq 4).
No: she stays there during the death iddah, without adornment; the house is maintained for her (sura al-Baqara 240's reported residence).
Yes, at its end: for the widow, no new-husband restriction; for the irreversibly divorced, a new contract with new mahr.