Iddah (Waiting Period)

Assalaamu Alaikum Dear Brothers & Sisters

It is commonly misunderstood that the Iddah Period is to be used to seclude the wife into private quarters, where she has to sit for either 3 menstrual cycles or 1 menstrual cycle and all her daily activities are almost abrogated.

The period of Iddah for a wido would be 4 months and 10 days in accordance to Surah Al Baqarah Verse 234

This is a huge misconception, the wife does not need to observe eteqaaf (seclusion)

In fact Islamically speaking, she can undertake any task during this time which is required to maintain herself and or her family.

There are only 2 exceptions and that during this period she cannot look for proposals or have a nikah with anyone, this is purely and simply because she is still in her nikah until the iddah is exhausted.

It is highlighted Islamically that Iddah is to be observed for 3 Menstrual Cycles, however if the separation has been for over 12 months and you are about to observe the Iddah after a khulla (Islamic Divorce initiated by the Wife) then you can observe only 1 month of iddah.

People also often ask us regarding, maintaining the wife’s expenses too and below we have tried to cover this area too in sh Allah

Iddah is supposed to be observed in the husbands home and that’s where the expense is supposed to be.

This is accommodation known as sukna.
The nafaqa is basic needs like food, drink clothing and essentials.

A lifestyle of wants and extras are not part of essential nafaqah as stipulated by shariah, if the iddah is not at the sukna (husbands house) then if he agrees to gift her something towards expenses on a personal arrangement then he can do that but it is not compulsory unless certain circumstances make it compulsory, these can be stipulated for clarification if you drop you send us an email, these normally include pregnancy etc.

Any further clarification required please do contact us on our email address

enquiries@theshariacouncil.org.uk

Jazakh Allah Khairun

 

A Video explaining this is below:

 

Does Islam disallow reconciliation during iddah?

 

The Qur’an does not say that reconciliation is impossible during ʿiddah (waiting period). In fact, for Islamic divorces it Allah SWT encourages reconciliation during the ʿiddah.

For example, regarding a revocable divorce (the first or second divorce), the Qur’an says:

“And their husbands have more right to take them back during this period if they desire reconciliation.”
— Qur’an

And:

“When they have nearly reached the end of their waiting period, either retain them in a fair manner or part with them in a fair manner…”
— Qur’an

These verses indicate that during the ʿiddah following a first or second divorce, the husband may revoke the divorce and resume the marriage, provided the reconciliation is genuine and conducted properly.

However, after a third divorce, the Qur’an states:

“If he divorces her [for the third time breaking the 3^rd Nikah], she is not lawful for him.”
— Qur’an

In that case, reconciliation during the ʿiddah is not possible because the divorce is considered final (ṭalāq bā’in kubrā in classical Islamic jurisprudence).

There are also other situations where reconciliation during ʿiddah may not occur in the same way—for example, certain forms of irrevocable divorce (bā’in), depending on the legal school and circumstances, as was in the case of Umar Ibn Khtab (ra). But as far as the Qur’an itself is concerned, it clearly permits reconciliation during the ʿiddah of a first or second divorce and does not contain a general rule that reconciliation is forbidden during ʿiddah.

If you’re wanting to know about a specific verse or a particular type of ʿiddah (after an Islamic divorce, widowhood, khul-faskhʿ, etc.), we should look at each case in detail on its own merits

Does the The Prophet Muhammad Peace & Blessings be upon him mention anywhere that during iddah you cannot reconcile?

No. In fact, the opposite is generally found in the Islamic sources.

For a revocable divorce (ṭalāq rajʿī)—the first or second divorce—the Qur’an explicitly allows reconciliation during the wife’s ʿiddah (waiting period):

“Their husbands have a better right to take them back during this period, if they desire reconciliation.”
— Qur’an 2:228

Another verse instructs:

“Do not turn them out of their houses, nor should they leave… Perhaps Allah will bring about a matter after that.”
— Qur’an 65:1

Classical scholars commonly understood this as leaving room for reconsideration and reconciliation during the ʿiddah of a revocable divorce.

There are also reports from the Prophet ﷺ that indicate taking a wife back after a revocable divorce. For example, after Abdullah ibn Umar divorced his wife while she was menstruating, the Prophet PBUH instructed him to take her back and then, if he still wished, divorce her properly later. This narration appears in major hadith collections, including Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.

The main exception is the third divorce (after two previous divorces and reconciliations). In that case, reconciliation during ʿiddah is not possible because the marriage is no longer revocably dissolved. The Qur’an states:

“If he divorces her [for the third time], she is not lawful to him afterward until she marries another husband…”
— Qur’an 2:230

So if by “reconcile” you mean the husband taking the wife back during ʿiddah after a first or second divorce, there is no statement from the Prophet prohibiting that; the Qur’an and hadith indicate that reconciliation is permitted during that period. If you’re asking about a specific type of divorce

Reconciliation during iddah after khula or faskh, in most cases these are understood by the majority of Muslim Scholars as irrevocable Islamic Divorces even though there is no Islamic  Evidence from the Qur’an or sunnah to suggest this.

This is largely due to the understanding that the wife has paid a ransom in some cases to have her self-released from his nikah through no fault of his, for this there must be an Islamic Judge and Jury to determine whether there was no fault of his and in majority countries around the globe there are no such places of real Islamic Court Systems that can operate with such intrinsic detail.

If it is understood taht during the iddah period after khula, the women returns the mahr, therefore the Ulama understand this to mean that the Islamic Divorce is irrevocable, if an islamic divorce is irrevocable yet scholars who state that it is irrevocable allow the couple to remarry with a new nikah and new mahr with new witnesses using the same verse in Surah Al Baqarah 232, therfore not accepting it as ṭalāq bā’in rather ṭalāq rajʿī

 

With no Islamic Judicial System in place we understand that this can be interpreted differently.

.

The confusion is that Most Scholars have made this so confusing and made the definition of irrevocable very grey.

As the return of the Mahr is not specific to all cases we at The National Sharia Council have come to the conclusion that Khula and Faskh are considered to be 1^st revocable Islamic Divorces and should both parties decide to reconcile amicably then they can do so without the need of a new nikah during the waiting period (iddah), especially if the faskh has been granted where the mahr was not paid back and the spouse was at fault, be it for not fulfilling her rights or if there is domestic abuse – violence.

However if the iddah has expired then a new nikah and new mahr with new witnesses is required in accordance to Surah Al Baqarah Verse 232, if they BOTH amicably agree.

We have come to this decision due to the fact that Allah SWT consistently gives all opportunities to reconcile between couples on every opportunity and does not make that difficult, in fact The Almighty makes Islamic Divorce difficult and reconciliation easy not the other way round. The only condition is that they MUST BOTH agree to reconcile unlike Talaq where the man simply revokes his Talaq.

In some cases we would not allow reconciliation following Iddah, it would be best to email our panel to discuss your individual case.

For example if the Wife has returned her mahr and paid compensation to have her khula issued then we would need to convene a panel meeting to dicuss why they wish to reconcile without a new nikah during the iddah and whether or not the couple are making sound decision and the decision to go through khula was not emotionally charged. In these cases we would possibly decline the reconciliation without just reasoning and or advise the couple to have a new nikah.

If the Sister attained Faskh and did not return her mahr or gifts then we would consider this to be a revocable Islamic Divorce and the couple would be free to reconcile during the iddah should they both wish to do so.

Different Schools of Thought

Although this is not a matter of differences of opinion, however we still strongly as you to reach out to your local imams to clarify before accepting our advice on any of the matters on our website.

Objects of Iddah:

For the purpose of ascertaining pregnancy or a child’s parentage: Iddah period is practiced amongst Muslims to ascertain the pregnancy of a divorced/widowed woman or child’s parentage at the time of dissolution of marriage of his/her parents.

Opportunity for reconciliation & refelction: Iddah is accepted as a period for reconciliation of potential differences amongst husband and wife.

Period of mourning for the deceased husband: it gives ample time to the widowed wife to mourn over the death of her husband, and by this way, she can protect herself from taking haste decision in the time of vulnerability.

 

In all cases we would request the couples to email us to seek clarification before making a decision and also performing istikhara several times should they need to do so before applying for khula or and Islamic Divorce

Jazakh Allah Khairun

There are several hundred ahadith collections and we have linked them below to study in detaila t your won leaisure insh Allah

https://www.iium.edu.my/deed/hadith/muslim/009_smt.html