The reason why the ‘iddah of a woman whose husband dies is four months and ten days

 

What is the reason why a woman’s ‘iddah is four months and ten days if her husband dies?.

Praise be to Allaah.

There are
two ways to know the reason behind the command of Allaah or the command of
His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). 

1 – The
reason may be stated in a text of the Qur’aan or Sunnah, such as the verses
in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“And We
made the Qiblah (prayer direction towards Jerusalem) which you used to face,
only to test those who followed the Messenger (Muhammad) from those who
would turn on their heels (i.e. disobey the Messenger)”

[al-Baqarah 2:143] 

“Messengers as bearers of good news as well as of warning in order that
mankind should have no plea against Allaah after the (coming of) Messengers.
And Allaah is Ever All‑Powerful, All‑Wise”

[al-Nisa’
4:165] 

And such as
the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him):
“Visit the graves, for they remind you of death.” Narrated by Muslim (976). 

There are
many such texts in which the reasons for commands are stated. 

2 – The
scholars may derive the reasons by means of study and ijtihaad, and they may
be right or wrong, and the reason may be concealed from many people. What is
required of the believer is to submit to the command of Allaah and obey it
in all cases, whilst firmly believing that Allaah is Wise and has great
wisdom, and He is not to be questioned about what He does, whereas they will
be questioned about what they do. 

Secondly: 

Allaah has
commanded women to observe an ‘iddah of four months and ten days in the
event of the husband’s death. He says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“And
those of you who die and leave wives behind them, they (the wives) shall
wait (as regards their marriage) for four months and ten days, then when
they have fulfilled their term, there is no sin on you if they (the wives)
dispose of themselves in a just and honourable manner (i.e. they can marry).
And Allaah is Well-Acquainted with what you do”

[al-Baqarah 2:234] 

Allaah did
not clearly state the reason for that, but the scholars worked out what they
thought was the reason, based on the general principles of Islam with regard
to protecting lineages and honour. 

Ibn Katheer
(may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his Tafseer: Sa’eed ibn
al-Musayyib, Abu’l-‘Aaliyah and others stated that the reason why the ‘iddah
in the case of the husband’s death is four months and ten days is because of
the possibility of pregnancy. If (the woman) waits for this length of time,
it will become apparent whether she is pregnant, as is mentioned in the
hadeeth of Ibn Mas’ood which is narrated in al-Saheehayn and
elsewhere: “The creation of any one of you is put together in his mother’s
womb as a nutfah (drop) for forty days, then he becomes a ‘alaqah (a piece
of thick coagulated blood) for a similar period, then he becomes like a
chewed piece of flesh for a similar period, then Allaah sends an angel to
him and he breathes the soul into him.” These three periods of forty days
add up to four months, and to be on the safe side ten days are added to
that, because some months may be shorter, and because the movements of the
foetus begin after the soul is breathed into it. And Allaah knows best. 

Sa’eed ibn
Abi ‘Aroobah said, narrating from Qataadah: I asked Sa’eed ibn al-Musayyib:
What is it about the ten days? He said: At that time the soul is breathed
into (the foetus). Al-Rabee’ ibn Anas said: I said to Abu’l-‘Aaliyah: Why
are these ten days added to the four months? He said: Because at that time
the soul is breathed into (the foetus). Both reports were narrated by Ibn
Jareer. End quote. 

Al-Shawkaani
(may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Fath al-Qadeer: The reason why
the ‘iddah in the case of the husband’s death is this length of time is that
the male foetus usually begins to move after three months, and the female
after four, and Allaah added ten days to that because the foetus may be weak
and its movements may be delayed somewhat, or not. End quote. 

See: Zaad
al-Maseer by Ibn al-Jawzi (1/275) and I’laam al-Muwaqqi’een
(2/52). 

It should
noted that it is not permissible to ignore a shar’i ruling on the basis that
there may be an alternative way of achieving the purpose behind it. No one
has the right to say: “If the reason for the ‘iddah is to establish whether
the woman is pregnant or not, modern medicine enables us to know that at the
beginning of pregnancy, so there is no need for a woman to wait for this
length of time.” He does to have the right to say that because the reason
mentioned is something that the scholars have worked out, but it may be
wrong, or it may be only part of the reason and not the entire reason. So it
is not permissible to ignore the definitive command on which there is
consensus, for a derived reason which may be wrong. 

And Allaah
knows best.