What is the minimum waiting period in days for a divorced woman who experiences menstruation?

The waiting period (ʿidda) is a legally prescribed, fixed period determined by the Lawgiver, which a woman is required to observe upon the termination of her marriage, whether through divorce, annulment, or the death of her husband.

In Hanafi jurisprudence and Egyptian judicial practice, a woman is accepted as truthful if she reports having completed three complete menstrual cycles, provided that sixty days have passed since her divorce. The scholar al-Kasani noted in Bada`iʿ al-Sana`iʿ fi Tartib al-Shara`iʿ (3/198), “There is scholarly disagreement regarding the minimum period for which a woman in her waiting period is accepted as credible concerning her waiting period. Abu Hanifa is of the view that, for a free woman, the minimum period is sixty days.”

This ruling is based on the understanding that the divorce occurred at the beginning of a period of purity, estimated at its minimum as fifteen days, and that her menstrual period lasts five days, which is considered the average duration of menstruation. By adding the periods of purity and menstruation, the total amounts to sixty days. The luminary al-Sarakhsi noted in Al-Mabsuṭ (3:217), “Regarding Abu Hanifa’s ruling, may Allah have mercy on him, as reported by Mohammed (may Allah have mercy on him) [who said], “It is assumed that the husband divorced his wife at the beginning of a period of purity, as a precaution against the divorce occurring in a period of purity after intercourse. The period of purity is considered fifteen days, as there is no maximum limit for purity, so it is estimated at its minimum. Her menstruation is counted as five days, as it is rare for menstruation to be shorter than the minimum or extend to the maximum; therefore, the median is considered, which is five days. The three periods of purity, each lasting fifteen days, amount to forty-five days, and three menstrual periods, each lasting five days, amount to fifteen days, totaling sixty days.”

Personal Status Law No. (1) of the year 2000 stipulates in Article (3) provides that: “Rulings shall be issued in accordance with the applicable Personal Status and Waqf laws. Where these laws are silent, the most authoritative opinion of the school of Imam Abu Hanifa shall be applied.” The rulings of the Court of Cassation (Appeal No. 326 of 1963, Personal Status) state, “According to Hanafi jurisprudence, the minimum duration necessary for completing the waiting period is sixty days.”

And Allah Almighty knows best.