Islamic Fiqh > Marriage and family > Iddah (waiting period) > The widow's mourning (ihdad)
Updated on 06 October 2026 at 10:50 PM
Ihdad is the mourning a woman observes after a death: she abstains from perfume, adornment and everything that draws attention. The following sheets set out the fiqh rulings on ihdad: who must observe it and who is exempt from it, the wisdom behind its prescription, what the mourning woman must avoid, and related acts such as plucking the eyebrows (namas), hair extensions, tattooing (washm) and filing the teeth (washr). The positions of the four schools and the early scholars are cited with their textual proofs, report numbers and classical references.