Nasai

Hadith Commentary:

Women are prohibited from accompanying the funeral procession because women are faint-hearted and impatient. In such a situation, it is possible for them to commit acts contrary to the Shariah; therefore, the noble Shariah has, from the outset, prevented women from this. For this reason, it is also prohibited for women to go to the graveyard.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
A woman observing mourning has been commanded by the Shari‘ah not to adorn herself. Since fragrance is also used for adornment, its use is likewise prohibited, as is explicitly stated in this hadith. However, after becoming pure from menstruation (hayd), she is permitted to use it in a limited manner to remove the effects of unpleasantness.

(2)
Imam Nawawi rahimahullah has written: There are two well-known types of "qust" that are used as incense. When they are mixed with other substances, a fragrance is produced, and then its use is prohibited for a woman in mourning. Similarly, other such things whose purpose is not adornment or fragrance are permissible to use, such as applying mustard oil to the hair or bathing with plain soap; a woman in mourning may also use these. (Fath al-Bari: 6/609)

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
Although the prohibition of applying kohl (surmah) is not mentioned in this narration, it is explicitly stated in another chain of this same hadith. Thus, in one narration it is mentioned that she should neither apply kohl nor use perfume.
(: Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Menstruation, Hadith: 313)
In another narration, it is stated that a woman observing mourning should also not apply henna.
(: Sunan Abi Dawud, Book of Divorce, Hadith: 2302)
In another narration, it is mentioned that she should not comb her hair either.
(: Sunan an-Nasa’i, Book of Divorce, Hadith: 3564)
(2)
It should be noted that the restriction of mourning for four months and ten days applies only to a woman who is not pregnant. If she is pregnant, then she will observe mourning until childbirth, as clarified in other ahadith.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
There is a poisonous substance in menstrual blood, the discharge of which causes the skin of the specific area to contract and its color to change.
To remove this contraction and restore freshness, fragrance is needed, and this need is fulfilled by the use of Indian costus (qust hindi).
The use of fragrance after the ritual bath (ghusl) following menstruation is emphasized to such an extent that even a woman whose husband has passed away—who is not permitted to use adornment or fragrance for four months and ten days—is still required to use fragrance after the ritual bath following menstruation.
The use of fragrance is also necessary so that aversion and dislike are removed, and so that at the time of prayer and other acts of worship, the thought of menstrual blood does not cause mental discomfort. However, most women in our subcontinent (Pakistan and India) for some reason neglect this Prophetic instruction.

➋
‘Asb refers to that Yemeni cloth whose threads were first tied with knots, and then, in that state, dyed, after which the cloth was woven. Wherever there were knots, the dye would not take, and those areas would remain plain. Probably for this reason, some scholars have interpreted it as a striped sheet.
The purpose of the Prophetic hadith is to prohibit, during the waiting period (‘iddah), all garments that are dyed for the purpose of adornment.
However, permission was given for the wearing of ‘asb cloth because, in that era, it was the common attire.
If this striped Yemeni cloth is of high quality and a means of adornment, then it is also not permitted to wear it, as is mentioned in a narration: during mourning, a woman should neither wear colored clothing, nor ‘asb cloth, nor apply kohl.
(Sunan al-Nasa’i, al-Talaq, Hadith: 3564)
From this hadith, it is understood that if ‘asb cloth is a means of adornment, then wearing it is also prohibited for a woman in mourning.

➌
In the pre-Islamic era, the method of observing the waiting period (‘iddah) was that a woman would be confined, completely isolated, in a very narrow and dark room for a year.
During this time, she was not even allowed to perform a ritual bath (ghusl).
After a year, she would emerge in a most unsightly state, and then a bird would be made to touch certain specific parts of the woman’s body.
In most cases, unable to bear the stench, the bird would die. Then, a goat’s dropping would be placed in the woman’s hand, which she would throw behind her back, as if she had cast away the waiting period.
Islam abolished all these customs and retained the waiting period of mourning in a most reasonable and civilized manner.

➍
Imam al-Bukhari rahimahullah has narrated Hisham’s report in a connected (mawsul) form.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Talaq, Hadith: 5343)
In this narration, it is clarified that when a woman in mourning becomes pure from menstruation, after bathing she should use some costus (qust) and azfar.
Qust refers to Indian costus, which is also called oud or luban.
Azfar is a fragrant wood that resembles a nail, or the wood is cut like a nail and used in fragrance, and it is also called azfar al-tayyib.
Some scholars have read it as Zafar, intending the city of Yemen.
From there, Indian oud was imported and exported to Arab lands.
In summary, at the time of bathing, she should use one of these fragrances so that the odor is removed.
(Fath al-Bari: 1/537)

(1) "Brightly colored cloth" refers to cloth that is dyed after being woven. Generally, such color is bright.
(2) "Striped cloth": The original Arabic term "thawb ‘asb" is used, meaning the cloth that is dyed before being woven. In fact, wearing such cloth is permissible for a woman in mourning, as is explicitly stated in Bukhari and Muslim: "except for a garment of ‘asb" [Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Hayd, Hadith: 313; and Sahih Muslim, al-Talaq, Hadith: 938, after: 149]. So here, "wa la thawb ‘asb" is a clear mistake, as "wa la" has been used instead of "illa," which completely reverses the meaning. In al-Nasa’i al-Kubra and al-Nasa’i, it is "illa thawb ‘asb." To justify the existing wording, it has been translated as "striped," because striped cloth also contains fragrance.
(3) "She may apply some perfume": This perfume is not for adornment, but rather to remove the odor of menstruation, and this perfume will be applied to the area of menstruation, not to the rest of the body.

Hadith Commentary:

Benefits and Issues:
By "colored cloth" is meant such cloth in which fragrance is mixed with the dye, or due to its brightness and vividness, it becomes a means of adornment and beautification. As for old colored cloth in which beauty and attraction no longer remain, and which is not used for adornment or beautification, there is no harm in using it.

Benefits and Issues:
➊ (Thawb ‘Asb)
This refers to a special type of cloth that was made in Yemen. The spun thread would be tied in knots and then dyed. The dye would not penetrate inside the knots; when untied, some of the thread would remain white and some would be colored. The cloth woven from this thread would also have white and colored parts in an irregular pattern. This was called (thawb ‘asb), which has been translated as: “a garment that is partly white and partly colored.”

➋
It is permissible to wear this type of garment during the waiting period (‘iddah) because, due to the significant amount of white in it, the garment does not remain brightly colored.

➌
The use of perfume during the waiting period (‘iddah) is not permissible.

➍
The purpose of placing perfume at the specific area after the ritual bath (ghusl) for menstruation is to eliminate any unpleasant odor from the body.

Benefits and Issues:
Whether a woman is one with whom consummation has taken place or not, whether she is young or old, it is obligatory upon her, after the death of her husband, to adhere to the aforementioned matters for a period of four months and ten days, and to adopt simplicity in this manner.