our time, cancer has become widespread; formerly, it was tuberculosis. What matters is illnesses from which, if someone dies, people say, “That was the cause.” For this reason, the scholars said: A woman in labor is regarded as suffering from a fatal illness, even though death in labor is not frequent. Yet if she dies in labor, people would say, “This is not unusual.”

His statement, “or during a fatal illness but does not die from it, the two do not inherit from one another”: If, for example, someone is suffering from a fatal illness such as pleurisy, fears that he may die from it, and therefore divorces his wife so that she will not inherit from him, but then Allah grants him recovery, her waiting period ends, and he later dies, she does not inherit from him, because he recovered from the illness. This issue, however, requires further examination: for if he divorces her during the fatal illness from which he dies, it is clear that he intended to deprive her of inheritance. But if he recovers and then the illness returns and he dies, there is room for reconsideration as to depriving her of inheritance, because the suspicion remains.

His statement, “except in the case of a revocable divorce whose waiting period has not ended”: A revocable divorce is one in which the husband has the right to take back his wife without a new marriage contract. Thus, if a man divorces his wife revocably while in good health and then dies while she is still in her waiting period, she inherits from him; and if she dies, he inherits from her, because a woman in a revocable divorce remains legally regarded as a wife. Indeed, Allah called the divorcing husband her husband, saying:

“Divorced women shall wait by themselves for three menstrual cycles; and it is not lawful for them to conceal what Allah has created in their wombs, if they believe in Allah and the Last Day. And their husbands have more right to take them back during that period.” [al-Baqarah 2:228]

If someone were to say, “This is in consideration of what formerly was,” we reply: the basic principle is that wording is understood according to its apparent meaning. We cannot say, “in consideration of what formerly was” or “in consideration of what will be,” except on the basis of evidence. Allah said