A man who divorces his wife and her menstruation stops

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The waiting period ('iddah) of a divorced woman is reckoned by menstruation, even if it becomes long.

Hafs said: He mentioned a year and more.

Al-Sha'bi and Ibrahim said: She observes the waiting period ('iddah) by menstruation.

Likewise it is narrated from Ibrahim that both of them said: She observes the waiting period ('iddah) by menstruation.

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If a woman is divorced, then she has one or two menstrual periods, and after that her menstruation stops, she counts three months for the menstruation and nine months for pregnancy, and then she becomes lawful for men.

Al-Hasan said: If a woman is divorced, then she has one or two menstrual periods and then her menstruation stops, she should wait for one year, and after the year she should wait another three months, and then she may marry.

Yazid bin Abi Habib (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Al-Zuhri wrote to me that a man divorced his wife while she was nursing a child of his. Then the woman remained for seven or eight months without menstruating. Someone said to the man: If you die, she will inherit from you. He said: Take me to Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him). So he was carried to Sayyiduna Uthman, and he sent for Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked them about it. Both of them said: Our view is that she will inherit. He said: What is the reason for that? They said: Because she is not among the women who have despaired of menstruation, nor among those who do not menstruate; what keeps her from menstruating is nursing the child. After this the man took his child away from her. When the child was taken from her, the woman had one menstrual period, then in the second month she had another period, and then the man died before the woman had her third period, so she inherited from him.

Sulayman bin Yasar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A man from Syria named al-Ahwas divorced his wife with one or two divorces, and the man died while the woman was still in her third menstruation. The case was brought before Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), and he asked Sayyiduna Fadalah bin Ubayd (may Allah be pleased with him) and the other Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who were there about it, but none of them had an answer. So a rider was sent to Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) to ask about it, and he said: She will not inherit from him, and if she dies, he will not inherit from her.

He said: And Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) held that view.

Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Alqamah divorced his wife with one or two divorces. Then the woman had one or two menstrual periods in sixteen or seventeen months, and she had not had her third period when she died. Alqamah came to Sayyiduna Abdullah and asked him about it, and Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Allah has held back her inheritance for you. Then Sayyiduna Abdullah made him her heir.

Muhammad bin Yahya bin Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) said that his grandfather, Sayyiduna Hibban bin Munqidh (may Allah be pleased with him), had two wives, one from Banu Hashim and the other from the Ansar. He divorced his Ansari wife while she was nursing a child. When she nursed a child, she would not menstruate for a year. Hibban died before that year was complete, so Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) made his wife an heir, and he said to the Hashimi wife: This is also the view of your cousin, Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him).

Al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A woman who menstruates only once in several months also observes her waiting period by menstruation, even if it becomes long.