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What are the conditions for an accepted repentance after exchanging words of love over the phone with the husband's brother during the waiting period (iddah), and is it permissible to marry the husband's brother after the waiting period ends, and what is the appropriate duration for him to propose, taking into account the psychological aspect of the brother's death?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The man erred by explicitly proposing marriage to you during your waiting period (iddah), and you erred by exchanging words of love with him. Both of you must repent. It is permissible to hint at a proposal to a woman in her iddah, but it is not permissible to be explicit. If the man is religious and of good character, accept him as a husband after your waiting period ends. The waiting period for a woman whose husband has died is four months and ten days, or upon delivery if she is pregnant. There is no harm in appearing before him wearing a headscarf (hijab) without adornment, if there is no suspicion in that.

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

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