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Is it permissible for my grandmother to move between her marital home during her waiting period (iddah) out of necessity?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The general rule is that a woman in iddah (waiting period) must remain in the marital home and not leave it unless out of necessity. The ruling on her leaving the house varies according to the type of iddah and the jurisprudential school of thought:

- Hanafi school: It is not permissible for a woman in iddah from a revocable or irrevocable divorce to leave, whether by night or day. - Shafi'i school: - A woman in iddah from a revocable divorce: It is not permissible for her to leave. - A woman in iddah due to death or an irrevocable divorce: It is permissible for her to move about during the day for a need, and to go out at night for a minor need. - Maliki and Hanbali schools: It is permissible for a woman in iddah due to death or divorce to go out during the day for needs, but not at night for fear of corruption.

Leaving out of necessity: It is permissible for a woman in iddah to leave day and night for extreme necessity, such as fear for her life from danger.

Detailed cases of leaving (Ibn Uthaymeen): 1. For no necessity or need: It is not permissible (e.g., picnic or Umrah). 2. For necessity: It is permissible day and night (e.g., house demolition, fire). 3. For need: It is permissible during the day only (e.g., buying necessities, teaching, studying, visiting a sick relative, comforting a neighbor due to distress). The distinction between night and day is due to the availability of safety during the day.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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