The Reason Why The ‘Iddah Of A Woman Whose Husband Dies Is Four Months And Ten Days
Islamic Rulings -
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What is the reason why a woman’s ‘iddah is four
months and ten days if her husband dies?.
Praise be to Allaah.
There are two ways to know the reason behind the
command of Allaah or the command of His Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
1 – The reason may be stated in a text of the Qur’aan
or Sunnah, such as the verses in which Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“And We made the Qiblah (prayer direction towards
Jerusalem) which you used to face, only to test those
who followed the Messenger (Muhammad) from those who
would turn on their heels (i.e. disobey the
Messenger)”
[al-Baqarah 2:143]
“Messengers as bearers of good news as well as of
warning in order that mankind should have no plea
against Allaah after the (coming of) Messengers. And
Allaah is Ever All-Powerful, All-Wise”
[al-Nisa’ 4:165]
And such as the words of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Visit the graves,
for they remind you of death.” Narrated by Muslim
(976).
There are many such texts in which the reasons for
commands are stated.
2 – The scholars may derive the reasons by means of
study and ijtihaad, and they may be right or wrong,
and the reason may be concealed from many people. What
is required of the believer is to submit to the
command of Allaah and obey it in all cases, whilst
firmly believing that Allaah is Wise and has great
wisdom, and He is not to be questioned about what He
does, whereas they will be questioned about what they
do.
Secondly:
Allaah has commanded women to observe an ‘iddah of
four months and ten days in the event of the husband’s
death. He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And those of you who die and leave wives behind them,
they (the wives) shall wait (as regards their
marriage) for four months and ten days, then when they
have fulfilled their term, there is no sin on you if
they (the wives) dispose of themselves in a just and
honourable manner (i.e. they can marry). And Allaah is
Well-Acquainted with what you do”
[al-Baqarah 2:234]
Allaah did not clearly state the reason for that, but
the scholars worked out what they thought was the
reason, based on the general principles of Islam with
regard to protecting lineages and honour.
Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his
Tafseer: Sa’eed ibn al-Musayyib, Abu’l-‘Aaliyah and
others stated that the reason why the ‘iddah in the
case of the husband’s death is four months and ten
days is because of the possibility of pregnancy. If
(the woman) waits for this length of time, it will
become apparent whether she is pregnant, as is
mentioned in the hadeeth of Ibn Mas’ood which is
narrated in al-Saheehayn and elsewhere: “The creation
of any one of you is put together in his mother’s womb
as a nutfah (drop) for forty days, then he becomes a
‘alaqah (a piece of thick coagulated blood) for a
similar period, then he becomes like a chewed piece of
flesh for a similar period, then Allaah sends an angel
to him and he breathes the soul into him.” These three
periods of forty days add up to four months, and to be
on the safe side ten days are added to that, because
some months may be shorter, and because the movements
of the foetus begin after the soul is breathed into
it. And Allaah knows best.
Sa’eed ibn Abi ‘Aroobah said, narrating from Qataadah:
I asked Sa’eed ibn al-Musayyib: What is it about the
ten days? He said: At that time the soul is breathed
into (the foetus). Al-Rabee’ ibn Anas said: I said to
Abu’l-‘Aaliyah: Why are these ten days added to the
four months? He said: Because at that time the soul is
breathed into (the foetus). Both reports were narrated
by Ibn Jareer. End quote.
Al-Shawkaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in
Fath al-Qadeer: The reason why the ‘iddah in the case
of the husband’s death is this length of time is that
the male foetus usually begins to move after three
months, and the female after four, and Allaah added
ten days to that because the foetus may be weak and
its movements may be delayed somewhat, or not. End
quote.
See: Zaad al-Maseer by Ibn al-Jawzi (1/275) and I’laam
al-Muwaqqi’een (2/52).
It should noted that it is not permissible to ignore a
shar’i ruling on the basis that there may be an
alternative way of achieving the purpose behind it. No
one has the right to say: “If the reason for the
‘iddah is to establish whether the woman is pregnant
or not, modern medicine enables us to know that at the
beginning of pregnancy, so there is no need for a
woman to wait for this length of time.” He does to
have the right to say that because the reason
mentioned is something that the scholars have worked
out, but it may be wrong, or it may be only part of
the reason and not the entire reason. So it is not
permissible to ignore the definitive command on which
there is consensus, for a derived reason which may be
wrong.
And Allaah knows best.
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