Does a woman whose husband died thirty years after divorcing her, and who discovered upon his death that the divorce was not administratively documented, have to observe the 'iddah?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
The official registration of a divorce has no bearing on its validity. Therefore:
- Your mother's (waiting period) begins from the moment the husband pronounces the divorce.
- The iddah ends after three menstrual cycles, or upon delivering the baby (if pregnant), or after three months for those who do not menstruate or have reached menopause.
- If the husband dies after the iddah has ended and he had not taken her back (revoked the divorce), then she does not observe an iddah for his death because she was not his wife at the time of his passing.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/135030
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 135030
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy