Muwatta Imam Malik (Riwayat Yahya)

It is narrated from Humaid bin Nafi that Zainab bint Abi Salamah related three hadiths to him. The first is that I went to Lady Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her), who was the wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him), when her father Abu Sufyan bin Harb had died. Lady Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her) asked for perfume in which there was some yellow coloring, and after applying it to a slave girl, she applied it to her own cheeks and said, "By Allah! I have no need for perfume, but I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: 'It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for any deceased person for more than three days, except for her husband, for whom she should mourn for four months and ten days.'"

The second hadith is that Lady Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I went to Lady Zainab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her), who was the wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him). When her brother died, she asked for perfume and applied it, and said: "By Allah! I have no need for perfume, but I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: 'It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for any deceased person for more than three days, except for her husband, for whom she should mourn for four months and ten days.'"

The third hadith is that Lady Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I went to my mother, Lady Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her), who was the wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him). She said: A woman came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)! My daughter's husband has died and her eyes are hurting; if you permit, may I apply kohl to her eyes?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "No, no," two or three times, then said: "Rather, it is necessary to abstain for four months and ten days, and in the time of ignorance, they used to abstain for a whole year. When the year ended, they would throw a camel's dung." Humaid said: I asked Lady Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her): "What is meant by throwing a camel's dung?" She said: "In the time of ignorance, when a woman's husband died, she would go to a ruin and wear the worst of clothes, and would not apply any perfume or anything else for a year. After the year, they would bring an animal, a donkey or a goat or some bird, and she would rub it on her body, and often it would die. After that, when she came out, they would give her a camel's dung, and by throwing it away, she would then have the choice—if she wished, she could apply perfume or do any other thing."

It is narrated from Umm al-Mu'mineen Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and Umm al-Mu'mineen Sayyidah Hafsa (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for any deceased person for more than three nights, except for her husband."

Sayyida Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her) said to a woman who was in mourning for her husband and whose eye was hurting: "At night, apply kohl that brightens the eye, and during the day, wipe it off."

Hazrat Salim bin Abdullah and Sulaiman bin Yasar used to say: If a woman's husband dies and she suffers from an eye ailment or any other pain, she may apply kohl and use medicine, even if it contains fragrance.
Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: When there is a need, the religion of Allah, Glorious and Exalted is He, is easy.

Hazrat Safiyyah bint Abu Ubaid was in mourning for her husband, that is, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them). She did not apply kohl, and her eyes were hurting until discharge began to appear.

Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A woman who is in mourning for her husband should not wear any kind of jewelry, neither a ring, nor anklets, nor any other jewelry, nor Yemeni cloth unless it is thick and coarse, nor colored cloth except black, nor should she comb her hair, nor apply henna, except that she may wash her hair with leaves of the lote tree or something else that does not have fragrance. Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If a woman's husband dies, she may apply olive oil or sesame oil that does not have fragrance.

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, went to Lady Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, and she was in mourning for her husband Abu Salamah. She had applied aloes to her eyes. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, asked: "O Umm Salamah! What is this you have applied?" She said: "O Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him! This is aloes." He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Apply it at night and wipe it off during the day."

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that if a woman is not yet of age and does not menstruate, she is like an adult woman; when her husband dies, she must observe mourning, and she must also avoid those matters which are obligatory for an adult woman to avoid.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that when a slave woman's husband dies, she should observe mourning for two months and five days.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that when the master of an umm walad dies, she does not observe mourning, because mourning is obligatory only for those women who have husbands.

Umm al-Mu'minin Sayyida Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her) used to say: A woman in mourning may wash her head with lotus leaves and may apply olive oil.