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When does the waiting period ("iddah") for a mother whose husband passed away on September 10, 2024, end?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If the mother is pregnant, her 'iddah (waiting period) ends with the delivery of the entire pregnancy, based on the verse: "And for those who are pregnant, their term is until they deliver their burden." (Quran 65:4). However, if she is not pregnant, her 'iddah is four months and ten days, based on the verse: "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." (Quran 2:234). The 'iddah is calculated according to lunar months, with the month of death being completed to thirty days if the death occurred during the month. The 'iddah begins at the moment of the husband's death and ends at the same hour on the last day of the 'iddah according to the majority of scholars, while the Malikis hold that the day of death is not counted if the death occurred after Fajr (dawn prayer).

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

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