Chapter on the Waiting Period (ʿidda)
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When a man divorces his wife, whether the divorce is final (bāʾin) or revocable (rajʿī), or when separation occurs between them for a reason other than divorce, and she is a free woman who menstruates, her waiting period is three qurʾ—namely, three menstrual cycles.
• If she does not menstruate because of youth or old age, her waiting period is three lunar months.
• If she is pregnant, her waiting period ends with delivery. -
For a slave-woman the waiting period is two menstrual cycles; if she does not menstruate, it is one and a half months.
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If a husband dies and leaves a free wife, her waiting period is four months and ten days.
• For a slave-wife it is two months and five days.
• For a pregnant wife it lasts until she gives birth.
• If a woman whom he divorced during his terminal illness is entitled to inherit from him, she must observe whichever is longer: the death-related waiting period or the divorce-related waiting period. -
Should a slave-woman gain her freedom while still observing the waiting period of a revocable divorce, she moves to the waiting period prescribed for free women.
• If her emancipation occurs while she is under an irrevocable divorce or widowed, her waiting period does not change.
• If a woman who had been counting months due to amenorrhea begins to see menstrual blood, the portion of the waiting period already completed is nullified and she must restart the waiting period on the basis of menstruation. -
A woman married through a defective contract, as well as one who was cohabited with by mistake, observes a waiting period of menstruation—both in the case of separation and in the case of the man’s death.
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If the master of an umm walad dies or emancipates her, her waiting period is three menstrual cycles.
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When a minor boy dies leaving a pregnant wife, her waiting period ends when she delivers. If conception occurs only after his death, the waiting period is four months and ten days.
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If a man divorces his wife while she is