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When does the 'iddah (waiting period) of a woman whose husband passed away on Jumada al-Ula 21, 1436 AH end?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a woman is pregnant, her 'iddah (waiting period) ends when she gives birth to her entire pregnancy, based on the Almighty's saying: "And for those who are pregnant, their term is until they deliver their burdens." If she is not pregnant, her 'iddah is four months and ten days, based on the Almighty's saying: "And those of you who die and leave wives behind, they [their wives] shall wait on their own for four months and ten [days]." The 'iddah is calculated by lunar months, and the month of death is completed to thirty days if the death occurred within it. So, if the husband died on the 21st of Jumada al-Ula 1436, the 'iddah ends on the first day of Shawwal if the month of death was completed to thirty days, or on the last day of Ramadan if it was less than thirty. 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.

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

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