The Book of Divorce

It was narrated from Al-Furai'ah bint Malik that her husband hired some men to work for him, but they killed him. She told the Messenger of Allah what had happened and said: 'I do not live in a dwelling that belongs to him, nor do I receive maintenance from him. May I move to my family with my two orphans and care for them?' He said: 'Do so.' Then he asked, 'What did you say?' She repeated what she had said, and he replied: 'Observe your waiting period wherever the news reaches you.'

It was narrated from Furai'ah that her husband went out to pursue some slaves of his and was killed at the outskirts of Al-Qadum. She said: 'I went to the Prophet and told him that I wished to move to my family, explaining my circumstances. He granted me permission. As I turned to leave, he called me back and said: Stay with your family until the prescribed term is fulfilled.'

It was narrated from Ibn 'Abbas that this verse abrogated the requirement that a woman observe her waiting period with her family, so she may observe it wherever she wishes. This is the saying of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime: 'without turning them out.'

Furai'ah bint Malik, the sister of Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri, said: 'My husband died in Al-Qadum, so I went to the Prophet and told him that our home was far away.' He gave her permission, then called her back and said: 'Stay in your house for four months and ten days, until the prescribed term is fulfilled.'

It was narrated from Humaid bin Nafi' that Zainab bint Abi Salamah told him these three hadiths. Zainab said: 'I visited Umm Habibah, the wife of the Prophet, when her father, Abu Sufyan bin Harb, died. Umm Habibah called for perfume and applied some to a young girl, then touched some to her cheeks. She said: By Allah, I have no need for perfume; I only did this because I heard the Messenger of Allah say: A woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day may not mourn for anyone for more than three days, except for her husband, for whom the mourning period is four months and ten days.'

Zainab said: 'Then I visited Zainab bint Jahsh when her brother died. She called for perfume and applied some. She said: By Allah, I have no need for perfume; I only did this because I heard the Messenger of Allah say from the pulpit: A woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day may not mourn for anyone for more than three days, except for her husband, for whom the mourning period is four months and ten days.'

Zainab said: 'I heard Umm Salamah say: A woman came to the Messenger of Allah and said, O Messenger of Allah, my daughter's husband has died, and her eye is troubling her. May I apply kohl to her? He said, No. Then he said, The waiting period is four months and ten days. In pre-Islamic times, one of you would throw a piece of dung at the end of the year.' Humaid said: 'I asked Zainab, What does throwing a piece of dung at the end of the year mean?' Zainab replied: 'When a woman's husband died, she would enter a small hut, wear her worst clothes, and touch neither perfume nor anything else for a year. Then an animal—a donkey, sheep, or bird—would be brought to her, and she would wipe herself with it; scarcely any animal used this way survived. Then she would come out, be given a piece of dung, and throw it away. After that she could resume using whatever perfume or other things she wished.' Malik explained, in Muhammad's narration, that taftadd means to wipe oneself with it. Malik also said that al-hifsh means a small hut.'

It was narrated that Umm 'Atiyyah said: 'The Messenger of Allah said: A woman may not mourn for anyone who dies for more than three days, except for her husband, for whom she observes mourning for four months and ten days. She should not wear a dyed garment or a garment of patterned 'asab cloth, apply kohl, comb her hair, or use perfume. When she has completed her menstrual period and purified herself, she may use a small amount of qust and azfar.'

It was narrated from Safiyyah bint Shaibah, from Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet, that the Prophet said: 'A woman whose husband has died must not wear garments dyed with safflower or red clay, apply dye to herself, or use kohl.'

It was narrated from Umm 'Atiyyah that the Prophet said: 'A woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day may not mourn for anyone who dies for more than three days, except for her husband. She must not apply kohl, dye herself, or wear a dyed garment.'

Ahmad bin 'Amr bin As-Sarh narrated to us: Ibn Wahb narrated to us; Makhramah informed me, from his father, who said: I heard Al-Mughirah bin Ad-Dahhak say: Umm Hakim bint Asid narrated to me, from her mother, that her husband had died and her eye was troubling her, so she used al-jila' kohl. She sent a woman in her service to Umm Salamah to ask about using al-jila' kohl. Umm Salamah said: 'She should not use kohl except when it is unavoidable. The Messenger of Allah came to me when Abu Salamah died, while I had placed aloe on my eye. He asked, What is this, Umm Salamah? I replied, It is aloe, Messenger of Allah; it contains no perfume. He said, It brightens the face, so apply it only at night. Do not comb your hair with perfume or henna, for henna is a dye. I asked, What should I comb my hair with, Messenger of Allah? He replied, With lote leaves; coat your head with them.'

It was narrated from Zainab bint Abi Salamah, from her mother Umm Salamah, who said: 'A woman from Quraysh came and asked, Messenger of Allah, my daughter has an eye inflammation; may I apply kohl to her?' Her daughter was in the waiting period after her husband's death. He replied, 'Has she not four months and ten days?' The woman then said, 'I fear for her eyesight.' He said, 'No; four months and ten days. In pre-Islamic times, a woman would mourn her husband for a year, then, when the year was over, throw a piece of dung.'

It was narrated from Zainab bint Abi Salamah, from her mother, that a woman came to the Prophet and asked about her daughter, whose husband had died and who was ill. He said: 'In the past, one of you would observe mourning for a year, then throw away a piece of dung when the year was over. The prescribed period is only four months and ten days.'

Muhammad bin Ma'dan bin 'Isa bin Ma'dan narrated to us: Ibn A'yan narrated to us; Zuhair bin Mu'awiyah narrated to us; Yahya bin Sa'id narrated to us, from Humaid bin Nafi', the freedman of the Ansar, from Zainab bint Abi Salamah, from Umm Salamah, that a woman from Quraysh came to the Messenger of Allah and said: 'My daughter's husband has died, and I fear for her eyes; she wants to use kohl.' He said: 'In the past, one of you would throw a piece of dung when a year was over. The prescribed period is only four months and ten days.' I asked Zainab, 'What does “when a year is over” mean?' She said: 'In pre-Islamic times, when a woman's husband died, she would go to the worst room she had and sit there. When a year had passed, she would come out and throw a piece of dung behind her.'

It was narrated from Zainab that a woman asked Umm Salamah and Umm Habibah whether she could use kohl during her waiting period after her husband's death. They related that a woman had come to the Prophet and asked him about this. He said: 'In pre-Islamic times, when a woman's husband died, she would remain in mourning for a year, then throw a piece of dung behind her and leave. The prescribed period is only four months and ten days, until the term is complete.'

Al-'Abbas bin Muhammad—Ad-Duri—narrated to us: Al-Aswad bin 'Amir narrated to us, from Za'idah, from Hisham, from Hafsah, from Umm 'Atiyyah, from the Prophet, that he granted a concession to a woman whose husband had died, allowing her to use qust and azfar when she purified herself after menstruation.

Zakariyya bin Yahya As-Sijzi, known as Khayyat As-Sunnah, narrated to us: Ishaq bin Ibrahim narrated to us; 'Ali bin Al-Husain bin Waqid narrated to us; my father informed me; Yazid An-Nahwi narrated to us, from 'Ikrimah, from Ibn 'Abbas, regarding Allah's saying: 'Those of you who die and leave wives behind should bequeath for their wives provision for a year, without turning them out.' He said: 'This was abrogated by the inheritance verse, which prescribed for her a quarter or an eighth, and the one-year term was abrogated and replaced by a term of four months and ten days.'

Qutaibah narrated to us: Abu Al-Ahwas narrated to us, from Simak, from 'Ikrimah, regarding the saying of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime: 'Those of you who die and leave wives behind should bequeath for their wives provision for a year, without turning them out.' He said: 'This was abrogated by: Those of you who die and leave wives behind, their wives shall wait for four months and ten days.'

It was narrated from 'Ata' that 'Abdur-Rahman bin 'Asim informed him that Fatimah bint Qais told him the following. She had been married to a man from Banu Makhzum, who divorced her three times and went on a military expedition. He instructed his agent to give her some maintenance, but she considered it too little. She went to one of the Prophet's wives. While she was there, the Messenger of Allah came in, and the wife said: 'Messenger of Allah, this is Fatimah bint Qais. So-and-so divorced her and sent her some maintenance, which she returned. He claims it was a voluntary favor.' He said: 'He is telling the truth.' The Prophet then told her: 'Move to Umm Kulthum's home and observe your waiting period there.' Then he said: 'Umm Kulthum receives many visitors, so move to 'Abdullah bin Umm Maktum, for he is blind.' She moved to 'Abdullah's home and remained there until her waiting period ended. Abu Al-Jahm and Mu'awiyah bin Abi Sufyan then proposed to her, and she came to the Messenger of Allah to seek his advice. He said: 'As for Abu Al-Jahm, I fear his frequent use of the stick against you. As for Mu'awiyah, he is a man with little wealth.' She later married Usamah bin Zaid.

It was narrated from Abu Salamah bin 'Abdur-Rahman that Fatimah bint Qais told him that she had been married to Abu 'Amr bin Hafs bin Al-Mughirah, who divorced her with the final one of his three divorces. Fatimah said that she went to the Messenger of Allah to ask whether she could leave her home, and he told her to move to the home of the blind Ibn Umm Maktum. Marwan refused to believe Fatimah's account that a divorced woman could leave her home. 'Urwah said: 'Aishah objected to Fatimah over this.'