The waiting period of a widow

Egypt's Dar Al-Ifta

The waiting period of a widow

Question

ting period of a widow? Is she allowed to exit her house during this time?

Answer


The waiting period of a widow is four months and 10 days due to the words of Allah the Almighty Who says,If any of you die and leave widows behind; they shall wait concerning themselves four months and ten days. [Al-Baqarah: 234]

It is recorded in the Sahih of Bukhari and Sahih of Mulsim that Zainab Bint Abu Salamah said, "I entered the quarters of Umm Habibah [the Prophet's wife] at the time of her father's (Sufyan Ibn Harb) death. She asked for yellow tinted perfume, khaluq or something else. She then put some of it on the slave girl and then wiped it on her cheeks and said, "By Allah! I have no need for perfume but I heard the Messenger of Allah say, 'It is impermissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn a deceased for more than three nights unless it is her husband. She should mourn him for four months and ten days.' "

It is recorded in the Sahih of Bukhari and the Sahih of Muslim that Umm 'Atiyyah said, "We were forbidden to mourn any deceased for more than three days except for a husband whom we were to mourn for four months and ten days. We were not allowed to wear kohl, perfume, nor dyed garments except 'asb (a type of cloth from Yemen in which the yarn is dyed before being woven) garments.

When we purified ourselves by washing a small amount of kust azfar(incense used to eliminate menstrual odor). We were moreover forbidden to follow funeral processions."

The ruling
It is impermissible for a wife whose husband has passed away to exit her husband's house during the waiting period except for a necessity. A necessity is measured by its extent and only she can estimate it according to her need since she is the one who is responsible.
 

 

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