Chapter on the Rulings of ʿIddah (the Waiting Period)

Among the legal consequences of divorce is the obligation of ʿiddah, meaning a legally prescribed interval during which the woman must wait.

Its proof is found in the Quran, the Sunnah, and scholarly consensus.

1. The Quranic evidence:
   – “And divorced women shall wait, keeping themselves apart, for three menstrual periods” (Quran 2:228).
   – “As for those of your women who have despaired of menstruation—if you are in doubt—their waiting period is three months; and the same applies to those who have not yet menstruated. As for pregnant women, their term ends when they deliver their burden” (Quran 65:4). These verses refer to a separation while both spouses are alive.
   – Concerning widowhood: “And those of you who die and leave wives behind must bequeath that their wives wait for four months and ten days” (Quran 2:234).

2. The Sunnah: ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said, “I instructed Barīrah to observe a waiting period of three menstrual cycles.” This was recorded by Ibn Mājah, among others, along with additional reports that convey the same ruling.

3. Scholarly consensus likewise affirms the obligation of ʿiddah.

The rationale behind prescribing the waiting period is twofold: first, to ensure the womb is free of pregnancy so that lineage remains unconfused; second, to give the husband who initiated a revocable divorce time to reconsider and restore the marriage if he regrets his decision.