any kind of jewelry, and she must also shun every form of perfume—that is, everything people call a fragrance. She must likewise refrain from adornment in her clothes: she is not to wear garments that carry embellishment but limit herself to clothing that is free of decoration, avoiding all such finery for the entire length of her ʿiddah.

There is no special uniform prescribed for iḥdād; the bereaved woman may wear whatever she normally wears so long as the garment itself is not ornamental.

When her waiting period ends, nothing further is required of her, contrary to what some common folk suppose.

As for a woman who has ceased menstruating, her waiting period is three months, in accordance with the Almighty’s words: “And those of your women who have despaired of menstruation—if you are in doubt—their waiting period is three months” (Q 65:4).

A divorced woman who still experiences menses and is not pregnant must observe a waiting period of three menstrual cycles, for He says: “Divorced women shall wait, keeping themselves, for three quruʾ, and it is not lawful for them to conceal what Allah has created in their wombs” (Q 2:228)—meaning that each divorced woman remains apart after her husband’s separation for three menstrual periods, after which she may marry if she so wishes.

Interpreting quruʾ here as “menstrual periods” is narrated from ʿUmar, ʿAlī, and Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them). The term appears with this meaning in the language of the Law; in the hadith the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the woman suffering from continuous bleeding: “When your quruʾ comes, do not perform the prayer.”

The menstrual cycle, however, must be complete; the bleeding during which the divorce itself was pronounced does not count toward the waiting period.