Question:
A man married a woman, but he died before consummating the marriage. Is it obligatory for his widow to observe the ‘iddah?
Answer:
A woman whose husband dies after the contract of marriage but before consummation is obligated to observe mourning, because a woman becomes a wife through the marriage contract alone:
Allah the Exalted says:
وَالَّذِينَ يُتَوَفَّوْنَ مِنْكُمْ وَيَذَرُونَ أَزْوَاجًا يَتَرَبَّصْنَ بِأَنْفُسِهِنَّ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا
“Those of you who die and leave wives behind, let the wives wait for four months and ten days.”
Also, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
ولا تحد امرأة على ميت فوق ثلاث إلا على زوج أربعة أشهر وعشرا
“No woman should mourn over a deceased person for more than three days, except for a husband, for whom the ‘iddah is four months and ten days.”
And also because the Prophet ﷺ decided regarding a woman named Barwa’ bint Washiq, whose husband married her and died before consummation, that she must observe the ‘iddah and that she would also be entitled to inheritance.
