A woman whose husband dies and who gives birth shortly after his death

Sayyiduna Abu al-Sanabil (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Subay'ah bint al-Harith gave birth some twenty-odd days after the death of her husband. When she became pure from her postnatal bleeding, she adorned herself. She was reproached for this, and when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to know of it, he said: 'If she does so, it is fine, for her waiting period ('iddah) has passed.'"

Abu Salamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "I, Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) were in a gathering. We discussed: if a woman's husband dies and she gives birth a short time after his death, what is the ruling on her waiting period? I said: 'Her waiting period is complete.' Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: 'Whichever is longer of giving birth and four months and ten days will be her waiting period.' Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 'I am with my nephew, Abu Salamah.' Then they sent Kurayb, the freed slave of Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), to Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her). Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), deciding the matter, said: 'Subay'ah al-Aslamiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) gave birth forty days after the death of her husband. After the birth, a man of Banu Abd al-Dar whose kunyah was Abu al-Sanabil proposed marriage to Subay'ah al-Aslamiyyah and told her that her waiting period was complete. Subay'ah then intended to marry someone else, so Abu al-Sanabil said: "Your waiting period is not complete." Subay'ah mentioned this to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he gave her permission to marry.'"

Sayyiduna al-Miswar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Subay'ah gave birth a month after the death of her husband, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave her permission to marry."

A man of the Ansar told Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both): "I heard your father say: 'If the husband of a pregnant woman has died and is still on the funeral bier, and the woman gives birth, her waiting period is complete.'"

Sayyiduna Umar and Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "When the husband is lying in the house dressed in his shroud and his wife gives birth, her waiting period is complete."

Sa'id bin al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) consulted Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) about this. Sayyiduna Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "As soon as she gives birth, the woman's waiting period is complete." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Her waiting period is four months and ten days." Sayyiduna Zayd said: "If the woman has reached an age at which pregnancy and childbirth are not conceivable, what will her waiting period be?" Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The longer of the two periods will be the period of her waiting period." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If the body of the pregnant woman's husband has not yet been lowered into the grave and she gives birth, that woman's waiting period is complete."

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If anyone wishes, I am ready to swear that the shorter Surat al-Nisa (Surat al-Talaq) (which mentions that the waiting period ends with giving birth) was revealed after the verse of the Qur'an: 'four months and ten days' [Al-Baqarah: 234]."

Abu Qilabah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "If a pregnant woman's husband dies, her waiting period is complete as soon as she gives birth."

Al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "If a man divorces a pregnant woman, or her husband dies, her waiting period is the delivery of her child."

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The waiting period of a pregnant woman is the delivery of her child." And Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Her waiting period will be the longer of the two periods."

He said: And Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: "The later of the two terms."

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Her waiting period will be the longer of the two periods."

Amr bin Salim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "The waiting periods of some women have not been mentioned in the Qur'an: the young, the old, and the pregnant." Thereupon Allah Almighty revealed this verse of the Qur'an: "And those of your women who have despaired of menstruation, if you are in doubt, their waiting period is three months, and (also of) those who have not menstruated. And as for those who are pregnant, their term is until they deliver their burden." [Al-Talaq: 4]

Ibn Sirin said: "I was in the circle of Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Layla (may Allah have mercy on him). He said: 'The waiting period of a pregnant woman is the longer of the two periods.' At this I narrated the report of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Utbah (may Allah be pleased with him) about Sayyidah Subay'ah (may Allah be pleased with her), and some of his students began to glare at me. I said: 'I would indeed be bold against Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Utbah (may Allah be pleased with him) if I lied about him, while he is present in a corner of the mosque.'"

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "The waiting period of a pregnant woman whose husband dies is the longer of the two periods."

Ubaydullah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from his father that Sayyidah Subay'ah (may Allah be pleased with her) gave birth twenty days or a month after the death of her husband. Sayyiduna Abu al-Sanabil bin Ba'kak (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by her and said: "Are you getting ready for marriage? Do not marry until four months and ten days (have passed)." She came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and related the whole matter, and he said: "You are lawful for husbands."

Masruq (may Allah have mercy on him) and Amr bin Utbah (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote to Sayyidah Subay'ah bint al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with her), asking her about her case. She wrote back that she had given birth twenty-five days after the death of her husband. Then she made herself ready, seeking good. Sayyiduna Abu al-Sanabil bin Ba'kak (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by her and said: "You have been very hasty; observe the longer of the two waiting periods, that is, four months and ten days." Then she came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! Pray for forgiveness for me." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What has happened?" She related the whole story, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If you find a good husband, then marry him."

Abd al-Rahman bin Ma'qil (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I was present in the gathering of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) when a man asked him: "What will be the waiting period of a pregnant woman whose husband dies?" Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "She will take the longer of the two periods as her waiting period." A man said: "But Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) gives a fatwa that the waiting period is complete upon giving birth." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "He does not know."