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'Iddah (Female Menstrual Waiting Period): Difference between revisions
'Iddah (Female Menstrual Waiting Period) (view source)
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*'''A divorced woman''': The waiting period is 3 menstrual cycles. The reason is to make sure she's not pregnant before she can marry another man and to give time to the couple to solve their dispute during this period<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0">[https://brill.com/view/book/9789047426202/Bej.9789004172739.i-227_018.xml Reason for the waiting period]</ref>. | *'''A divorced woman''': The waiting period is 3 menstrual cycles. The reason is to make sure she's not pregnant before she can marry another man and to give time to the couple to solve their dispute during this period<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0">[https://brill.com/view/book/9789047426202/Bej.9789004172739.i-227_018.xml Reason for the waiting period]</ref>. | ||
*'''A widowed woman''': The waiting period is 4 months and 10 days. The reason is to make sure she's not pregnant before she can marry another man and to give time to the woman to mourn the death of her husband<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" />. | *'''A widowed woman''': The waiting period is 4 months and 10 days. The reason is to make sure she's not pregnant before she can marry another man and to give time to the woman to mourn the death of her husband<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" />. | ||
*'''A pregnant woman''': The waiting period is up to 9 months (till the birth of the baby). The reason is to prevent | *'''A pregnant woman''': The waiting period is up to 9 months (till the birth of the baby). The reason is to prevent another man (as 2nd husband) "watering" the unborn child from the previous husband<ref name=":3" /><ref>[https://quranx.com/Hadith/AbuDawud/DarusSalam/Hadith-2158/ Sunnan Abu Dawud, Hadith 2158]</ref>. | ||
==Islamic Divorce and The 'Idaah== | ==Islamic Divorce and The 'Idaah== | ||
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===Fifth Restriction: Women are not allowed to use good clothes, jewelry, perfume, Henna and to comb their hair or to oil it=== | ===Fifth Restriction: Women are not allowed to use good clothes, jewelry, perfume, Henna and to comb their hair or to oil it=== | ||
Widowed women observing their 'Iddah are not allowed to wear good clothes, or jewelry, or use perfume or Henna, with some jurists saying that even combing their hair and applying the oil to it is forbidden<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20211028112250/https://islamqa.org/hanafi/askmufti/45291/laws-of-the-iddat/ IslamQA Fatwa Website]</ref>. | Widowed women observing their 'Iddah are not allowed to wear good clothes, or jewelry, or use perfume or Henna, with some jurists saying that even combing their hair and applying the oil to it is forbidden<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20211028112250/https://islamqa.org/hanafi/askmufti/45291/laws-of-the-iddat/ IslamQA Fatwa Website]</ref>. | ||
{{Quote|[https://sunnah.com/mishkat:3333 Mishkat al-Masabih 3333]|Umm Salama said: God’s Messenger came to visit me when Abu Salama died, and I had put the juice of aloes on myself. He asked me what it was, and I told him it was only the juice of aloes and contained no perfume, so he said, “It gives the face a glow, so apply it only at night and remove it in the daytime, and do not comb yourself with scent or henna, for it is a dye.” I asked God’s Messenger what I should use when combing myself, and he told me to use lote-tree leaves and smear my head copiously with them. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani declared this Hadith to be FAIR (حسن) (link).}}Although these strictures again work to keep the woman from having any intercourse or attracting any male attention during her 'iddah by keeping herself (relatively) unattractive, these laws once again completely disregard the happiness and freedom of the woman to whom they are applied. They also seem imply that a woman would have no | {{Quote|[https://sunnah.com/mishkat:3333 Mishkat al-Masabih 3333]|Umm Salama said: God’s Messenger came to visit me when Abu Salama died, and I had put the juice of aloes on myself. He asked me what it was, and I told him it was only the juice of aloes and contained no perfume, so he said, “It gives the face a glow, so apply it only at night and remove it in the daytime, and do not comb yourself with scent or henna, for it is a dye.” I asked God’s Messenger what I should use when combing myself, and he told me to use lote-tree leaves and smear my head copiously with them. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani declared this Hadith to be FAIR (حسن) (link).}}Although these strictures again work to keep the woman from having any intercourse or attracting any male attention during her 'iddah by keeping herself (relatively) unattractive, these laws once again completely disregard the happiness and freedom of the woman to whom they are applied. They also seem to imply that a woman would have no interest in her own attire that overrides the concern for keeping her chaste during her 'iddah. | ||
==Pre-Islamic Influences on the Concept of ‘Iddah== | ==Pre-Islamic Influences on the Concept of ‘Iddah== | ||
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Some Islamic preachers and scholars argue that the reason for the 4 month and 10 days long 'iddah of a widow is to ''''mourn'''<nowiki/>' the death of the husband.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Reason for 4 months 10 days long Iddah of a widow [https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/88684/rights-of-a-deceased-husband-on-his-wife]</ref> Yet it should be noted that there is no obligation of any “mourning” upon a man if the wife dies. There is clearly a different standard vis-a-vis the same situation involving a man and a woman, as the husband is totally free to marry a new wife the same night, without any waiting period in name of "mourning." He's also totally free to have sex with his other wives and dozens of slave girls the same night as his divorce, and there is no restriction upon him in name of "mourning." | Some Islamic preachers and scholars argue that the reason for the 4 month and 10 days long 'iddah of a widow is to ''''mourn'''<nowiki/>' the death of the husband.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Reason for 4 months 10 days long Iddah of a widow [https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/88684/rights-of-a-deceased-husband-on-his-wife]</ref> Yet it should be noted that there is no obligation of any “mourning” upon a man if the wife dies. There is clearly a different standard vis-a-vis the same situation involving a man and a woman, as the husband is totally free to marry a new wife the same night, without any waiting period in name of "mourning." He's also totally free to have sex with his other wives and dozens of slave girls the same night as his divorce, and there is no restriction upon him in name of "mourning." | ||
Moreover, the 'iddah is even incumbent upon the widow in cases where she has never seen her husband after the marriage, and in cases where the marriage has not been consummated, and even if she is a minor child, or even if the marriage was abusive <ref>Widow has to observe 'Iddah even if she never saw the husband after the marriage, or even if she is a small child. [https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/145179/the-waiting-period-of-an-old-woman-after-the-death-of-her-husband]</ref>. In all such cases, a widow has no or | Moreover, the 'iddah is even incumbent upon the widow in cases where she has never seen her husband after the marriage, and in cases where the marriage has not been consummated, and even if she is a minor child, or even if the marriage was abusive <ref>Widow has to observe 'Iddah even if she never saw the husband after the marriage, or even if she is a small child. [https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/145179/the-waiting-period-of-an-old-woman-after-the-death-of-her-husband]</ref>. In all such cases, a widow has no or questionable emotional connection with the deceased husband, but still she has to undergo the restrictions of 'Iddah in name of mourning. As such, feminist critics of the institution of the 'iddah have decried it as misogynist. | ||
===Criticism of the 'Iddah of a pregnant woman=== | ===Criticism of the 'Iddah of a pregnant woman=== | ||