women before consummation and before a dowry has been fixed. Although such a divorce may bruise her feelings, that hurt is remedied by the consolation gift (mutʿah), which every husband must provide according to his means—whether well-off or of limited means—in keeping with custom. The Almighty then mentioned the woman for whom a dowry has already been stipulated and commanded that she be given half of it.
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir states in his Tafsir (1/512): “Splitting the bridal gift in half in this circumstance is unanimously agreed upon by the scholars; there is no dissent among them in this regard.” End quote.
[What is forbidden to a widow during her waiting period—known as ḥidād]
- Five things are forbidden to a woman observing the waiting period after her husband’s death, a state called ḥidād (mourning):
-
Perfume of every kind: she may not apply fragrance to her body or clothing, nor use any scented products, because the Prophet ﷺ said in the sound hadith, “and do not touch perfume.”
-
Bodily adornment: dyeing and all forms of beautification, such as kohl and the various skin dyes, are prohibited. If she must use kohl for medical treatment and not for adornment, she may apply it at night and wipe it off during the day. She may also treat her eyes with non-kohl medications that carry no element of adornment.
-
Wearing garments designed for adornment; instead, she should wear ordinary clothes that have no decorative intent, and no particular color is required—whatever people customarily wear suffices.
-
Wearing jewelry of any kind, even a ring.