and he ruled accordingly among the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, and none objected to him (1). This is the evidence from the report. As for rational consideration, there is the possibility that she is pregnant, in which case she waits nine months, since that is the usual duration of pregnancy; and the possibility that she is menopausal, in which case she waits three months, since the waiting period of a menopausal woman and of one who has not menstruated is three months. Thus, she observes a waiting period of twelve months from her husband’s separation from her. This is by way of precaution.

If someone were to ask: “Once the womb is shown to be empty after nine months, why not say that nine months suffice, with the three months included within them?”

We reply: Because we do not judge the womb to be empty until after nine months have passed; at that point, she begins a new waiting period of three months.

If someone were to ask: “With the advancement of medicine, could she not be examined?” The answer is: Yes. If she is examined and we know that her womb is empty, then she observes the waiting period by months. However, the preferable course in this matter is to follow the precedent of the early generations; the safer view is that she should observe a full year. This ruling applies to a woman whose marriage ends while her husband is alive. As for one whose marriage ends through death, we have already learned that she has only two possible cases: either she is pregnant, in which case her waiting period ends upon delivery, or she is not pregnant, in which case her waiting period is four months and ten days. However, our discussion concerns a woman whose marriage ends while her husband is alive, whose menses have ceased, and who does not know what caused them to cease. She observes a full year.

His words, “A slave woman’s waiting period is reduced by one month,” mean that her waiting period when calculated in months is two months. Thus, she has nine months for pregnancy and two months for the waiting period. Why do we not say that, with respect to pregnancy, she is half that of a free woman? The answer is that pregnancy is a natural matter in which women do not differ: for free women and slave women alike, the usual duration of pregnancy is nine