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الفتح الربانی
Fath al-Rabbani
كتاب العددBook of Waiting Periods
بَابُ مَا جَاءَ فِي إِحْدَادِ مُعْتَدَّةِ الْوَفَاةِ وَ مَا تَجْتَنِبُهُChapter: What Has Been Reported Regarding Mourning of the Widow in Waiting and What She Should Avoid
Hadith 7238
اُردوEn
عَنْ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ عَنْ أُمِّهَا إِنَّ امْرَأَةً تُوُفِّيَ زَوْجُهَا فَاشْتَكَتْ عَيْنُهَا، فَذَكَرُوهَا لِلنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم وَذَكَرُوا الْكُحْلَ، قَالُوا: نَخَافُ عَلَى عَيْنِهَا، قَالَ صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم: ((قَدْ كَانَتْ إِحْدَاكُنَّ تَمْكُثُ فِي بَيْتِهَا فِي شَرِّ أَحْلَاسِهَا فِي شَرِّ بَيْتِهَا حَوْلًا فَإِذَا مَرَّ بِهَا كَلْبٌ رَمَتْ بِبَعْرَةٍ أَفَلَا أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا۔))
Lady Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that a woman's husband died and her eye became diseased. Her family mentioned this matter to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and sought permission to apply kohl. They said, "We fear that her eye may be harmed." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One of you women used to stay in her house in the worst clothes, in the worst place, for a whole year, and when a dog would pass by her, she would throw dung at it. Can she not now be patient for four months and ten days?"
Brief Explanation
Benefits: … In the Age of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah), a mourning woman would prepare a separate small room and would wear the most worn-out clothes, and would not touch perfume. She would spend her waiting period (iddah) in this state for a whole year, and when it ended, at the end of the year, she would smear dung on her private part and throw it outside, declaring, “Today I have completed my waiting period.” Allah, the Exalted, abolished the waiting period of a year and made it four months and ten days, and even within this, He removed many of the restrictions of the Age of Ignorance.
