What is the Wisdom Behind the Mourning Period for a Widow?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
What is the wisdom behind the mourning period for a widow being so long and only three days for everyone else, including her parents?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
Wisdom of ‘Idda (Waiting Period)
Here are several wisdoms behind the need for an ‘idda (waiting period).
Some of these are:
- Making sure that she is not pregnant so that there would be no confusion on who the father of the child is if the woman were to remarry and get pregnant right away;
- To help couples, families, and communities understand the gravity and sanctity of marriage;
- As an expression of grief on the passing of the deceased husband if one’s husband passes away;
- In divorce cases, the waiting period provides time for reconciliation and reconsideration, mainly if the divorce occurred at the husband’s insistence.
Please check these links as well:
- What Is the Process of Asking Khul‘ from Husband?
- Khul‘ Archives.
- What are the rulings of the waiting period (‘idda)? Islam FAQ with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. [Video]
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersAcademy?
I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
