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Where should a wife whose husband has passed away observe her iddah: in the marital home in Amman, where he was transferred for treatment and died there, or in their other home in the Jordan Valley, where the pangs of death began?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The basic principle is that a woman should observe her 'iddah (waiting period) in her husband's house where she received the news of his death, based on the hadith of Furay'ah bint Malik. If she moved with her husband's permission and then received the news of his death in the house she moved to, she should observe her 'iddah there, unless she would suffer harm. If the husband and wife die while traveling, if they have not left built-up areas, she should return and observe her 'iddah in her first home. If they have left built-up areas, she has a choice between returning or observing the 'iddah in the house he prepared in the other town. If the husband died after their arrival at the house in Amman, she should observe her 'iddah there. If he died before her arrival there, she has a choice in observing the 'iddah between the house in the Jordan Valley or the one in Amman.

And Allah knows best.

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

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