سورة البقرة

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Basir said: I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) about the verse: مَّتَاعًا إِلَی الْحَوْلِ غَیرَ إِخْرَاجٍ [maintenance for a year without turning them out], and he replied: This verse has been abrogated, and the verse: یتَرَبَّصْنَ بِأَنفُسِهنَّ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهرٍ وَعَشْرًا [they should wait by themselves four months and ten days] and the verse of inheritance (al-Nisa/11) have abrogated it.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that the Imam (peace be upon him) said: This verse is abrogated. I said: "What was the ruling, [that has now been abrogated]?" He said: When a man died, his wife was maintained for one year from the principal of his estate. Then she was turned out without inheriting anything from the man, and after that the verse of the one-fourth and one-eighth of inheritance (referring to the verse of inheritance) abrogated this verse. So [from then on] the wife was maintained from her own share of the inheritance.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): [The Imam (peace be upon him)] said concerning the abrogating and the abrogated: Among these verses [is the one that can be cited about the waiting period of a widow]. In the time of Jahiliyya, the waiting period of a woman was a full year, and when a man died, the woman would throw behind her back something like dung or the like from a quadruped animal and say: "The husband is even less worthy to me than this, and for one year I will not apply kohl, nor adorn or beautify myself, nor make myself pleasant, nor marry." Therefore, they not only did not turn the woman out of her house during that year, but they also provided for her from the estate of her husband. So 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, (make) a bequest in favor of their wives of maintenance for a year without turning (them) out], and after Islam gained strength He sent down this verse: "And those of you who die and leave wives behind should wait four months and ten days [and observe the waiting period]! And when they have reached the end of their term, there is no blame on you ..." (al-Baqara/234).

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): In the time of Jahiliyya, the waiting period of a widow was one year. So when Allah sent His Messenger, He did not change their custom; rather, He left them upon their habit, and Allah sent down to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) in the Quran concerning it as follows: وَ الَّذِینَ یُتَوَفَّوْنَ مِنْکُمْ وَ یَذَرُونَ أَزْواجاً وَصِیَّةً لِأَزْواجِهِمْ مَتاعاً إِلَی الْحَوْلِ غَیْرَ إِخْراجٍ [And those of you who die and leave wives behind, (make) a bequest in favor of their wives of maintenance for a year without turning (them) out]. So the waiting period was one year, but after Islam gained strength Allah sent down this verse: "And those of you who die and leave wives behind should wait four months and ten days [and observe the waiting period]!" (al-Baqara/234), and by it He abrogated مَتاعاً إِلَی الْحَوْلِ غَیْرَ إِخْراجٍ [maintenance for a year without turning them out].