سورة البقرة

Imam Jawad (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Sulayman said: I asked him, "May I be sacrificed for you! How is it that the waiting period ('idda) of a divorced woman is three menstruations or three months, while the waiting period of a woman whose husband has died is four months and ten days?" The Imam answered: As for the 'idda of the divorced woman being three quru' (that is, three times becoming pure from menstrual blood) — it is so that it may become clear that there is no child in her womb. As for the reason that the 'idda of a woman whose husband has died is four months and ten days: Allah has laid down a condition in favour of women and a condition to their disadvantage, and in these two conditions He has committed no injustice toward them. The condition that is in favour of women is that in ila' (when a man swears that he will not have intercourse with his wife), they must observe an 'idda of four months. Allah says: "Those who swear (ila') from their wives have the right to wait four months. [And within these four months they must clarify their situation with their wife, whether continuing the marriage or divorce.]" (Baqara/226) So Allah has not permitted any man who has made ila' to abstain from intercourse with his wife for more than four months, because He knew that the utmost limit of a woman's patience in abstaining from intercourse with a man is four months. And the condition that is to the disadvantage of women is that Allah commanded them that if their husbands die, they must observe an 'idda of four months and ten days. Of course, at the time of the man's death, she is to receive the same maintenance she was receiving during his lifetime in the state of ila'. (So Allah, in ila', to the man's disadvantage and the woman's advantage, did not set the 'idda and abstention from intercourse at more than four months; but here [the 'idda of a woman whose husband has died], to compensate for the harm that had come to the man in ila', to the woman's disadvantage and the man's advantage, He set the 'idda at four months and ten days.) Allah the Blessed and Exalted said: يَتَرَبَّصْنَ بِأَنفُسِهِنَّ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا [they should keep themselves in waiting for four months and ten days], and Allah mentioned these ten days of 'idda only together with the four months, because He knew that the utmost limit of a woman's patience in abstaining from intercourse is four months. For this reason He made that period obligatory, [in one respect] in favour of the man and [in one respect] to the disadvantage of the woman.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): O Zurara! In every marriage, if the husband dies, [the waiting period] for the woman — whether free or a bondmaid, and whatever the form of the marriage: temporary, permanent, or through the purchase of a bondmaid — is that same four months and ten days.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Basir said: I asked about the interpretation of the verse: الَّذِینَ یُتَوَفَّوْنَ مِنْکُمْ وَ یَذَرُونَ أَزْواجاً وَصِیَّةً لِأَزْواجِهِمْ مَتاعاً إِلَی الْحَوْلِ [And those of you who die and leave wives behind — a bequest for their wives of maintenance for a year] (Baqara/240), and the Imam answered: This verse has been abrogated by the verse: يَتَرَبَّصْنَ بِأَنفُسِهِنَّ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا [they should keep themselves in waiting for four months and ten days], and the verse of inheritance has also abrogated it.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): In the age of ignorance (Jahiliyyah), the waiting period (iddah) of a widow was one year. When Allah raised His Messenger, He did not change their custom but left them upon their habit [and this is the way of Allah — to erase wrong customs and habits gradually, not all at once]. Allah revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) in the Quran concerning this: "And those of you who are on the verge of death and leave wives behind must make a bequest for their wives, to provide for them [by covering the cost of living] for one year, on condition that they [do not leave the husband's house and] do not go out [and do not remarry]." (al-Baqara/240) So the iddah was one year, but after Islam gained strength, Allah revealed this verse: وَ الَّذِینَ یُتَوَفَّوْنَ مِنْکُمْ وَ یَذَرُونَ أَزْواجاً یَتَرَبَّصْنَ بِأَنْفُسِهِنَّ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَ عَشْراً [And those of you who die and leave wives behind, they should keep themselves in waiting for four months and ten days], and thereby abrogated the statement مَتاعاً إِلَی الْحَوْلِ غَیْرَ إِخْراجٍ [provision for a year without turning them out].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said concerning the abrogating and the abrogated: Among these verses [one may mention the iddah of a widow]. In the age of ignorance (Jahiliyyah), a woman's iddah was a full year, and when the man died, the woman would throw something like camel dung or the like behind her back and say: "The husband is more worthless to me than this, and for one year I will not apply kohl, nor adorn or beautify myself, nor make myself pleasing, nor marry." So they would not only refrain from turning the woman out of her house during that year, but would also provide for her from her husband's estate. Then Allah, in the early days of Islam, sent down the verse: وَ الَّذِینَ یُتَوَفَّوْنَ مِنْکُمْ وَ یَذَرُونَ أَزْواجاً وَصِیَّةً لِأَزْواجِهِمْ مَتاعاً إِلَی الْحَوْلِ غَیْرَ إِخْراجٍ [And those of you who die and leave wives behind should make a bequest for their wives — provision for a year without turning them out], and after Islam gained strength He sent down this verse: وَ الَّذِینَ یُتَوَفَّوْنَ مِنْکُمْ وَ یَذَرُونَ أَزْواجاً یَتَرَبَّصْنَ بِأَنْفُسِهِنَّ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَ عَشْراً فَإِذا بَلَغْنَ أَجَلَهُنَّ فَلا جُناحَ عَلَیْکُمْ ... [And those of you who die and leave wives behind should wait for themselves four months and ten days; then when they have reached their term there is no blame on you...].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): When the verse وَالَّذِینَ یُتَوَفَّوْنَ مِنْکُمْ وَیَذَرُونَ أَزْوَاجًا یَتَرَبَّصْنَ بِأَنْفُسِهِنَّ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا [And those of you who die and leave wives behind, they should keep themselves in waiting for four months and ten days] was revealed, the women came to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and began to argue and complain to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), saying: "We cannot endure this length [of iddah]." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said to them: "[Before my mission,] if one of you lost her husband, she would throw a piece of camel dung behind her back and would seclude herself in a small room of her house and behind her curtain, and when one year had passed from that day, she would take up that dung, break it into pieces, and apply it as kohl to her eyes, and then she would marry. But now Allah has removed eight months of the iddah from your shoulders."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Can a woman whose husband has died and who is observing her iddah (waiting period) leave her house for a rightful and obligatory matter?" The Imam replied: One of the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) asked him: "Can a woman whose husband has died leave her house for rightful and obligatory matters that come up for her?" The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) replied: "Woe to you! Before I was sent [as a Prophet, it was the custom among you] that if a woman lost her husband, she would throw a piece of dung behind her back and say: 'For one whole year, I will not comb my hair, nor apply kohl to my eyes, nor dye [my hands and feet].' I have only commanded you to observe iddah for four months and ten days, and you are not even patient for this amount! That woman must not comb her hair, apply kohl to her eyes, or dye [her hands], and she must not leave her house during the day, and she must not spend the night anywhere other than her house." [The wife of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)] said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! If a rightful and obligatory matter comes up for that woman, what should she do?" He replied: "She should leave her house after noon and return by sunset, so that in this way she does not spend the night outside her house." I asked the Imam: "Can that woman go for Hajj?" The Imam replied: Yes.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Muslim said: [I asked] about a pregnant woman whose husband died; then she gave birth, and before the period of four months and ten days of her iddah was completed, she remarried. The Imam (peace be upon him) said: If the man has had intercourse with her, they are separated and they are never lawful to each other again, and the woman must first complete the remaining period of the first iddah, then observe the second iddah of three menstrual cycles [from the second marriage]. And if he has not had intercourse with her, they are separated so that the remaining period of her iddah is completed, and until the completion of the iddah, that man may wait as one of her suitors.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The Imam (peace be upon him), regarding a man who dies while away from his wife [far from her] and [later] the news of his death reaches his wife, said: That woman must begin observing the iddah from the very day she heard the news of her husband's death; because the arrival of the news determines the limit of observing the iddah.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): A woman whose husband has died must not marry, and she must observe iddah for four months and ten days.