ʿIddah Reference library
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World
... . ʿIddah is the waiting period, literally “number” during which the divorce of a couple or at least remarriage of the woman is to be delayed. The ʿiddah is fixed by the Qurʿān at three menstrual periods, with the exception of widows, who wait an extended period of four months and ten days, apparently as a sign of mourning. The Qurʿān ( 65:4 ) also takes into account women who are not menstruating. Their ʿiddah is three lunar months, while the ʿiddah of pregnant women is completed at the birth of the child. The subject of ʿiddah is addressed...
ʿIddah Reference library
L. Clarke and Maaike Voorhoeve
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women
... . ʿIddah can be defined as the waiting period that the woman should respect when her marriage is dissolved by divorce or the husband's death. It is addressed in a number of Qurʾānic verses, such as 2:228 , prescribing that “Divorced women shall wait concerning themselves for three monthly periods [ qarʿ , pl. qurū ʾ].” Other verses pertaining to the ʿiddah are 2:234 , 33:49 , and 65:4 . This article describes the norms pertaining to ʿiddah , both in classical Islamic legal doctrine and present-day personal status codes. It will also address how...
Iddah Quick reference
The Oxford Dictionary of Islam
...Iddah The waiting period a woman must observe after the death of her spouse or a divorce, during which she may not remarry, based on the Quran 2:228 and 2:238 . The waiting period after a divorce is three months, and after the death of a spouse it is four months and ten days. Any pregnancy discovered during this period is assumed to be the responsibility of the former...
Iddah
The Political Competence of Women in Islamic Law Reference library
Ahmed Zaki Yamani
Islam in Transition: Muslim Perspectives (2 ed.)
...one or two other to prevent suspicion. So is the visit of two or three men to the wife of a friend not mixing? Then there is the case of Fatimah bin Shurayk whom the Prophet described as a women of many guests—to the extent that he forbade Fatimah bin Qays from spending her ‘iddah in her home as it was a house full of men. It is the duty of Muslim jurists, whose minds God has illuminated so that they have understood Islam,—its Shari’ah and the purposes of this Shari’ah, and who have at heart the religious-legal interest of the nation—it is their duty to use...
Mutah
Tahlil
Khul
Nafaqah
Mourning
Tahlil Quick reference
The Oxford Dictionary of Islam
...after a triple (final) repudiation or divorce. If a husband has divorced his wife three times, then the couple cannot remarry unless the wife first marries another man and consummates the marriage. Thereafter the wife may divorce the second husband, complete her waiting period (iddah), and then remarry the first...
Mutah Quick reference
The Oxford Dictionary of Islam
...of the contract was hotly debated. Some required a three-day minimum; others required three months or one year. The object of mutah is sexual enjoyment and not procreation. After dissolution of the mutah, the wife must undergo a period of sexual abstinence (iddah); in case of pregnancy, iddah serves to identify a child's legitimate father. Sunni jurists reject the validity of this type of...
Mourning Quick reference
The Oxford Dictionary of Islam
...a release, not necessarily something to be lamented. The afterlife is where the soul meets its ultimate destiny in the mercy of God. Loud lamentation for the deceased is discouraged in Islam, although culturally condoned in some Islamic societies. There is a period of forty days (iddah) during which a widow is considered to be in mourning for her husband. But Muslim jurists point out that this is really a period set aside to determine the paternity of any children born after the husband's...
Khul Quick reference
The Oxford Dictionary of Islam
...a divorce procedure under Islamic law whereby a woman may obtain a divorce without showing cause by returning her dowry or conceding other financial obligations to her husband. This divorce procedure is initiated by the wife and is usually not revocable within the waiting period (iddah) prescribed for women before remarriage is allowed. Muslim legal sources disagree as to whether the consent of the husband is necessary for this procedure to take...
Sexuality Quick reference
The Oxford Dictionary of Islam
...contracted between an unmarried woman and a married or unmarried man. Sexual intercourse is prohibited during menstruation, for forty days after childbirth, during the daylight hours of Ramadan, and on pilgrimage. Women must be chaste for a period of three months after divorce (iddah) to determine paternity in the event of pregnancy. Various legal arguments allow or oppose specific forms of sexual activity and mandate that wives submit sexually upon their husbands' request. Homosexuality is acknowledged in the Muslim world; it is variously considered unlawful,...
Nafaqah Quick reference
The Oxford Dictionary of Islam
...class and agreement, nafaqah could also include servants and a standard of living consistent with that of the wife's peers. If divorce takes place, the husband is expected to pay her the same financial support for the first three months following the divorce, a period known as iddah, during which the wife continues to live in her home and may not remarry; this is to ascertain that there is no pregnancy and to allow for a period in which the couple could reconcile. Nafaqah can also include support for family members such as father, mother, sisters, brothers,...
Mutʿah Reference library
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World
...procedure exists in a temporary marriage, for the lapse of time specified in the contract automatically dissolves the temporary union. After the dissolution of each temporary union, no matter how short, the wife must undergo a period of sexual abstinence ( ʿiddah ); in case of pregnancy, ʿiddah serves to identify a child 's legitimate father. Herein lies the legal uniqueness of temporary marriage, distinguishing it, in Shīʿī law, from prostitution, despite their striking resemblance. The objective of mutʿah is sexual enjoyment ( istimtāʿ ), that of...
Mutʿah Reference library
Shahla Haeri and Willem Floor
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women
...procedure exists in a temporary marriage, for the lapse of time specified in the contract automatically dissolves the temporary union. After the dissolution of each temporary union, no matter how short, the wife must undergo a period of sexual abstinence ( ʿiddah ); in case of pregnancy, ʿiddah serves to identify a child 's legitimate father. Herein lies the legal uniqueness of temporary marriage, distinguishing it, in Shīʿī law, from prostitution, despite their striking resemblance. The objective of mutʿah is sexual enjoyment ( istimtāʿ ); that of...
Mourning Reference library
Oliver Leaman and Natana J. DeLong-Bas
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women
...devotion and the receiving of visitors and the sympathy of others. While in mourning, clothing should be simple and elaborate decoration avoided. The Qurʾānic verse 2:234 has been interpreted as implying that widows should mourn (and not remarry) for four months and ten days (ʿ iddah ), ostensibly to determine any potential pregnancy and paternity questions. It is generally believed that mourning cannot affect the fate of the deceased in the afterlife, and some of the traditional sayings of the Prophet ( ḥadīth ) advise actions involving charity, prayer, and...
Family Law Reference library
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World
...different forms of ṭalāq , some seen to be more meritorious than others. The most meritorious is the ṭalāq as-sunna ahsan . When the wife is free from her menstrual flow, the husband pronounces a ṭalāq ; he must then refrain from any sexual intercourse for the duration of the ʿiddah period, which is a period of three menstrual cycles or three months in the case of women who no longer menstruate. At the end of this time, the marriage is terminated. The wife 's right to bring a marriage to an end ( khulʿ ) is very restricted; it involves consent of the...
