Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1197
قَالَتْ زَيْنَبُ وَسَمِعْتُ أُمِّي أُمَّ سَلَمَةَ، تَقُولُ جَاءَتِ امْرَأَةٌ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَتْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ ابْنَتِي تُوُفِّيَ عَنْهَا زَوْجُهَا وَقَدِ اشْتَكَتْ عَيْنَيْهَا أَفَنَكْحَلُهَا فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " لاَ " مَرَّتَيْنِ أَوْ ثَلاَثَ مَرَّاتٍ كُلُّ ذَلِكَ يَقُولُ " لاَ " . ثُمَّ قَالَ " إِنَّمَا هِيَ أَرْبَعَةُ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا وَقَدْ كَانَتْ إِحْدَاكُنَّ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ تَرْمِي بِالْبَعْرَةِ عَلَى رَأْسِ الْحَوْلِ " . قَالَ وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ فُرَيْعَةَ بِنْتِ مَالِكٍ أُخْتِ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ وَحَفْصَةَ بِنْتِ عُمَرَ . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى حَدِيثُ زَيْنَبَ حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ . - وَالْعَمَلُ عَلَى هَذَا عِنْدَ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَغَيْرِهِمْ أَنَّ الْمُتَوَفَّى عَنْهَا زَوْجُهَا تَتَّقِي فِي عِدَّتِهَا الطِّيبَ وَالزِّينَةَ . وَهُوَ قَوْلُ سُفْيَانَ الثَّوْرِيِّ وَمَالِكِ بْنِ أَنَسٍ وَالشَّافِعِيِّ وَأَحْمَدَ وَإِسْحَاقَ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Zaynab said: I heard my mother, 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 eyes are sore. May we apply kohl to them? The Messenger of Allah said no two or three times, each time saying no. Then he said: It is only four months and ten days. In the pre-Islamic period, one of you would throw away a piece of dung at the end of a year. It is also reported in this chapter from Furay'ah bint Malik, the sister of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, and Hafsah bint Umar. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Zaynab is hasan sahih. The Companions of the Prophet and others acted on this: a woman whose husband has died avoids perfume and adornment during her waiting period. This is the view of Sufyan al-Thawri, Malik ibn Anas, al-Shafi'i, Ahmad, and Ishaq.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report contrasts the prescribed mourning period with a pre-Islamic practice at the end of a year.