What is the iddah (waiting period) for a widowed woman who has undergone a hysterectomy and is elderly, and is it permissible for her to travel to visit her son in a foreign country during her iddah?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
A widow must observe the (waiting period), even if she is certain she is not pregnant, because Allah the Almighty says: "And those of you who die and leave wives behind them, they (the wives) shall wait (as regards their marriage) for four months and ten days." Traveling during the iddah is not permissible, based on Allah the Almighty’s statement: "Do not turn them out of their houses, nor shall they (themselves) leave," and what An-Nasa’i narrated from Furay’ah bint Malik. As for traveling after the iddah, there is no objection to it, provided a (unmarriageable kinsman) is present.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/45316
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 45316
- 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