your husband.’ In another wording: ‘wherever the news reached you,’ reported by the compilers of the Sunan.

If, however, she is compelled to move to another house—because she fears for her own safety if she stays, is forced out, the dwelling is rented and the landlord evicts her, or he demands more than the agreed rent—then in all such situations she may relocate wherever she wishes in order to ward off harm.

A widow in her ʿiddah may leave the house for her necessary errands during the day, but not at night when wrongdoing is more likely. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to widows observing their waiting period: “Gather and talk in one of your houses; then, when you wish to sleep, each woman should return to her own home.”

Among the rulings of a widow’s waiting period is the obligation of iḥdād (formal mourning) for its entire duration. Iḥdād means refraining from anything that beautifies her or attracts others’ gaze.

The eminent scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH) said: “This forms part of the consummate beauty, wisdom, and compassionate care of this Sharīʿah. Mourning for the deceased is meant to acknowledge the gravity of death, whereas the people of pre-Islamic ignorance carried it to extremes: a woman would confine herself to the narrowest, most desolate room; she would not touch perfume, apply oil, or bathe, and so forth—practices that amount to protest against…"