Does the marital relationship between spouses end with the husband's death and the wife's completion of her waiting period (iddah)? Does the husband become unlawful to her after his death, making it forbidden for her to look at him with lust or to imagine him lustfully? Does she remain his wife after the iddah period ends if she does not marry someone else after him?

The marital bond (ismah) terminates due to several factors, including death. If the husband dies, the marital bond is severed. The wife being in the waiting period (iddat al-wafah) does not mean the continuation of the marital bond; rather, the waiting period serves other rulings and purposes. If the marital bond ends with death, there is no legitimate (shar'i) way for either spouse to continue enjoying the other.