'Iddah (Female Menstrual Waiting Period): Difference between revisions

If the husband says to his wife three times that he has divorced her, then she's formally considered to be divorced from him even if he said the three announcements in one sitting. The husband cannot remarry his wife unless she marries another man and gets divorced by him. This means that the moment the husband pronounces three Talaqs (announcements of divorce) in one sitting, his wife will need to go through a waiting period of three menstrual cycles where she's forced to stay at her ex-husband's home. But this ruling is criticized as unnecesary, since the parentage of the child could be determined after just the first menstrual cycle (as in case of the captive/slave woman). Therefore, logically the 'Iddah should be only one menstrual cycle long if the idea of assuring the parentage of any babies were to be followed to its logical conclusion<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220113121219/https://atheism-vs-islam.com/index.php/women/94-iddah-i-e-waiting-period-is-illogical-unnecessary-oppressive-injustice-against-the-women Iddah of 3 menstrual cycles in case of 3 Talaqs in one sitting]</ref>. Scholars claim that one of the purposes of the Iddah is to give a chance for reconciliation between the couple. This may be true in the case of a single or double talaq divorce, but after 3 Talaqs there's no chance of reconciliation which makes the additional two menstrual cycles not only meaningless but also mentally harmful for the divorced wife as she's forced to live with her ex-husband in the same home for three menstrual cycles.{{Quote|[https://web.archive.org/web/20210512143740/https://daruliftaa.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/rules_of_iddat-1.pdf Rules of Iddat]|When the husband divorces his wife, she will have to spend her Iddat in the matrimonial home. She must not leave the house during the day nor at night, nor can she make nikah with anyone else ... This rule will apply irrespective of whether the man issued one two or three divorces, and irrespective of whether he issued a talaaqul baa-in (irrevocable divorce) or a talaaq-ur-raj’ee (revocable Talaaq). The same rule will apply in all cases ... If she is observing her ‘Iddat in the same house wherein the man who issued a talaaqul baain to her is also living, she will have to observe strict Purdah (Hijab) with him.}}Moreover, in the present modern era, it is not necessary to wait even for one menstrual cycle, as the pregnancy and paternity can be determined right away through the modern medical tests.   

Islamic preachers and scholars claim that the Islamic 'Iddah of 3 menstrual cycles is correct, since some women have implantation bleeding (bleeding from when the fertilized egg attaches to the lining of the uterus.) despite being pregnant, and it is difficult for a woman to differentiate between the periods and the [https://www.healthline.com/health/how-long-does-spotting-last#implantation-spotting implantation bleeding]. Yet despite this rule, traditional Islamic law itself stipulates an 'Iddah of a prisoner/slave woman as only one menstrual cycle, in contradiction to this idea. If parentage were the main issue, the status of the woman (free or slave) should not matter. Also some jurists including Ibn Taymiyah say that the 'Iddah of a free Muslim woman in the case of [[Khul']] is only one period.<ref>[https://islamqa.info/en/answers/5163/does-iddah-apply-in-the-case-of-khula 'Iddah in Khul' is one menstrual period]</ref> Even Muhammad himself slept with [[Safiyah]] the same night when her first menstrual blood stopped, after he had murdered her previous husband. Note that Safiyyah was not a slave, but a free woman when Muhammad took her as a wife:  {{Quote|{{Muslim|8|3325}}|He (the Holy Prophet) then granted Saffiyyah emancipation and married her. Thabit said to him: Abu Hamza, how much dower did he (the Holy Prophet) give to her? He said: He granted her freedom and then married her. On the way Umm Sulaim embellished her and then sent her to him (the Holy Prophet) at night.}}{{Quote|{{Bukhari|||2893|darussalam}}|Narrated Anas bin Malik: We arrived at Khaibar, and when Allah helped His Apostle to open the fort, the beauty of Safiya bint Huyai bin Akhtaq whose husband had been killed while she was a bride, was mentioned to Allah's Apostle. The Prophet selected her for himself, and set out with her, and when we reached a place called Sidd-as-Sahba,' '''Safiya became clean from her (first) menses then Allah's Apostle took her into his bed.'''}}

There is no Sahih Hadith of the prophet in which he ever mentions the 'Iddah of 3 periods due to any implantation bleeding. Muhammad adopted the practice of 'Iddah from his native Arabian culture. It is in response to modern conceptions of biology and ideals about women's rights that these arguments about parentage have been formulated. But these arguments fall flat, as upon further inspection the contradictions in them are evident (such as having sex with a slave girl after one menstrual cycle). They are not based on the actual source material but rather on a desire to make the source material acceptable to a modern audience.