Chapter on the Waiting Period (ʿiddah)
Introduction
The term ʿiddah—pronounced with a kasrah on the ʿayn and a doubled dāl—is taken from ʿadad (number) because the span of the waiting period is precisely enumerated.
It denotes the legally prescribed interval during which a woman must refrain from remarrying after she and her husband have separated.
Its authority rests on the Quran, the Sunnah, and scholarly consensus.
- The Quran: Allah says, “Divorced women shall wait by themselves …” [al-Baqarah 2:228], and in other verses as well.
- The Sunnah: the reports are exceedingly numerous, among them the Prophet’s—peace and blessings be upon him—instruction to Fāṭimah bint Qays to observe her ʿiddah in the house of Umm Shurayk, along with many other hadiths in this chapter.
The scholars are unanimously agreed on it, drawing on the explicit texts of the Quran and the Sunnah.
Allah, exalted is He, ordained this waiting period for the woman who has been separated from her husband for weighty and profound reasons, the wisdom of which varies according to the circumstances of the separation.
Among those reasons are:
• to ascertain that the womb is free of pregnancy, so that the seminal fluids of two men do not mix in a single womb and lineages do not become confused—an error that breeds evil and corruption;
• to magnify the marriage contract, elevate its status, and display its honor;
• and to extend the time available to a husband who has issued a revocable divorce, for he might come to regret it and thus have a span of time