in situations where she would be exposed to unrelated men. When she is in the presence of such men, she must conceal her adornment and cover herself.

Question: My wife clings to the custom of mourning the deceased for a full year, to the point that she completely neglects all my marital rights and takes no care of me. This happens every time one of her relatives dies: she mourns him for a year, does not adorn herself for me, and pays no attention to either my public or private affairs. I have tried many times to persuade her to abandon this bad habit, but without success. What is the ruling on what she is doing, and for how long is mourning legislated for a woman?

Answer: What she is doing is forbidden; it is not permissible for her to act in this way. Al-Bukhārī and Muslim narrate from Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “It is not lawful for a Muslim woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for more than three days, except for her husband—for him she must mourn four months and ten days.” Thus, a woman is only required to observe mourning for four months and ten days when her husband dies. Your wife’s practice of mourning every deceased person for an entire year is sinful and unlawful for her. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade that, as is clear from the hadith just cited. She must repent to Allah the Exalted and abandon this evil practice.