A widow: those who said she observes her waiting period in her house

Sayyidah Furay'ah bint Malik (may Allah be pleased with her), the sister of Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), said: My husband went out in search of his non-Arab slaves who had run away. He caught up with them at al-Qadum, where they killed him. When the news of my husband's death reached me, I was in one of the houses of the Ansar, which was far from the houses of my family. I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: The news of my husband's death has reached me, and I am in a house that is far from the house of my parents and my brothers. My husband did not leave me any money to be spent on me, nor wealth that I would inherit, nor any house that he owned. If you permit me, I will go to the house of my parents and my brothers; that is dearer to me and of more benefit to me. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do as you wish." Sayyidah Furay'ah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Having heard this decision of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I went out with my eyes cooled (in joy). Then, after that, while I was in the mosque or in one of the rooms, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called me and said: "What did you decide?" I narrated the whole matter to him, and he said: "Stay in the very house in which the news of your husband's death came to you, until the term is complete." She said: So I spent four months and ten days there.

Alqamah said: The husbands of some women of Hamdan were killed, so Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) instructed them to gather together during the day and to spend the night in their own houses.

Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The husbands of some women of Hamdan died. They intended to observe their waiting period together in the house of one of them. They sent someone to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) to ask about this. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Each woman should observe her waiting period in her own house.

Musaykah said: A woman went to visit her family during her waiting period, and there the time of her delivery drew near. They sent me to Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) to ask him about it. At that time he had prayed the Isha prayer and gone to his bed. I said to him: So-and-so went to visit her family during her waiting period, and there she has begun to feel the pains of childbirth. What do you instruct me regarding her? He said: Let her be carried to her house in that very condition.

Ibn Thawban (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A woman's husband died, and she was suffering from poverty. She asked Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) for permission to go to her family. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) granted her the concession to go there during the daylight.

Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A woman of the Ansar was widowed. She asked Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him), and he did not permit her anything except the daylight of her day or her night.

Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A woman's husband had died and she was observing her waiting period ('iddah). During that time her father fell ill. She sent a message to Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) asking whether she could go to nurse her father. She said: "If you stay in your house at one of the two ends of the day, you may go."

Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A woman whose husband has died may not spend the night anywhere other than her own house.

Nafi' said: A woman whose husband had died spent one day of her waiting period somewhere other than her own house. Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) ordered her to make up that day.

Hisham bin Urwah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I asked my father whether a woman whose husband has died may move away. He said: "No, unless her family moves, in which case she may move with them."

Khusayf (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I asked Sa'id bin al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) whether a woman whose husband has died may go out of her house. He said: "No."

Al-Hakam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: "She may not move house."

The students of Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: A woman whose husband has died may not leave her husband's house until she has completed her waiting period.

Sa'id bin al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A woman of the Ansar was observing her waiting period after her husband's death when her father fell ill. She asked Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) for permission to nurse him, and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) permitted her only one night.

Awf bin Abi Jadd (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A friend of mine died, and he had a field in Quba'. His wife said to me: "Ask Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) whether I may go out and work in this field." I came to Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) and asked him, and he said: "She may go out during the day, but she may not spend the night away."

Anas bin Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The husband of one of the daughters of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) died. She came to her family and wanted to spend the night with them. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) forbade her from doing so and said: "Go back to your house and spend the night there."