Question:
If a pregnant woman’s husband passes away, when can she remarry?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Answer:
The waiting period (ʿiddah) of a pregnant woman is until she delivers her child. Until then, she cannot remarry.
❀ Allah Almighty says:
وَأُولَاتُ الْأَحْمَالِ أَجَلُهُنَّ أَن يَضَعْنَ حَمْلَهُنَّ
(Sūrah al-Ṭalāq: 4)
“The term of pregnant women (whether divorced or widowed) is until they deliver their pregnancy.”
Sayyidah Subayʿah bint al-Ḥārith رضي الله عنها was pregnant when her husband passed away. A few days later, she gave birth to her child. The Prophet ﷺ granted her permission to remarry after delivery.
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5318, 6906; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1485. Also see Bukhārī: 5319, 5320; Muslim: 1484)
Scholarly Statements:
❀ Imām al-Tirmidhī رحمه الله
The practice of most scholars, including the Companions رضي الله عنهم, is that when a pregnant woman’s husband dies, once she delivers her child, it becomes permissible for her to remarry—even if the usual waiting period has not fully passed. This is the view of Sufyān al-Thawrī, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and Imām Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh.
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, 1193)
❀ Nāfiʿ رحمه الله reports:
When asked about a pregnant woman whose husband dies, ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما said:
“When she delivers, her waiting period is over.”
An Anṣārī companion added:
“ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه said: If her husband were still lying on the bier, not yet buried, and she delivered, her waiting period would end right there.”
(Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik, 2/589, authentic chain)
❀ Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه said:
“If she delivers, her waiting period ends.”
(Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik, 2/589, authentic chain)
❀ Abū Salamah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān رحمه الله said:
“When she delivers what is in her womb, her waiting period ends.”
(Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik, 2/590, authentic chain)
❀ Imām Mālik ibn Anas رحمه الله (179 AH):
“This is the ruling upon which the scholars of Madīnah have always given fatwā—that the waiting period ends with delivery.”
(Muwaṭṭaʾ Mālik, 2/590)
❀ Imām Ibn al-Mundhir رحمه الله (319 AH):
There is consensus that if a woman was divorced while pregnant, and she was unaware of the divorce until she delivered, her waiting period ends with delivery.
(al-Ijmāʿ: 447; al-Awsaṭ: 9/534; al-Ishrāf: 5/355; al-Iqnāʿ: 1/324)
❀ Imām Abū Jaʿfar al-Naḥḥās رحمه الله (338 AH):
All scholars unanimously agree—without any difference—that if a man dies and his wife is pregnant, even if four months and ten days pass, her waiting period does not end until she delivers. It is clear that delivery is the determining factor.
(al-Nāsikh wa al-Mansūkh, p. 243; Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī, 3/176)
Conclusion:The waiting period (ʿiddah) of a pregnant woman, whether divorced or widowed, ends with delivery of the child, regardless of the time span.
