An Important Ruling About The 'Iddat (waiting period) Of a Woman

Shar’i rulings regarding Islamic sisters

What if a woman has expenses for her own Hajj but not for her Mahram?

Question 1: What do the Scholars of Islam and Muftis of the blessed Shari’ah say regarding the following matter: A woman has some gold and cash with which she can gather the expenses for her own Hajj, but not for a Mahram. In this case, would Hajj be obligatory upon her?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ

اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَةَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ

If a woman possesses enough wealth with which she can perform her own Hajj, but she does not have enough wealth to provide the expenses of a Mahram and he too is not willing to travel without her providing the expenses, then if the other conditions that make Hajj obligatory are found, Hajj will be obligatory upon her but its fulfilment will only be Wajib when she has the ability to provide the expenses of the Mahram or if he agrees to travel without her providing for his expenses. If the woman does not gain the ability to gather the expenses of the Mahram throughout her life and neither is he willing to travel without his expenses being paid for, then it is Wajib upon the woman to make a will prior to her death that Hajj-e-Badal be performed on her behalf. If she does not do so, she will be sinful.

Keep in mind that the reason why it is necessary for the woman to travel with a Mahram when performing Hajj is because it is a condition for the woman to be accompanied by her husband or a trustworthy Mahram when travelling on a Shar’i journey (the distance of which is approximately 92km) for Hajj, Umrah or any other purpose. Without this, it is impermissible, Haraam and a sin for her to travel the Shar’i journey (i.e. more than 92km). Since the distance from Pakistan to Makkah is much more than the minimum Shar’i distance of a journey, hence it is not permissible for a woman to travel without her husband or Mahram.

Note: To learn the detailed rulings of Hajj, refer to Bahar-e-Shari’at, vol.1, part 6.

وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم

Written by: Mufti Qasim Attari

An important ruling about the ‘Iddat (waiting period) of a woman

Question 2: What do the Scholars of Islam and the Muftis of the blessed Shari’ah say regarding the following matter: A woman aged 28 was divorced by her husband on 24^th November. She gave birth seven months ago and for forty days after the childbirth, she had post-natal bleeding. From the time she attained purity until now, she has not had menses. Now, how long will her ‘Iddat be? The doctor has said that as long as she breastfeeds the baby, the situation with her menses will remain the same and she will have menses after one or two years. Please provide guidance in this matter.

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ

اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَةَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ

The ruling of Shari’ah is that a Baalighah woman who is not pregnant and neither has she reached the age of menopause (i.e. 55 years), her ‘Iddat for divorce is three menses. Therefore, in the aforementioned case, the ‘Iddat of the 28-year-old woman will finish after the passing of three menses, regardless of whether they take two years or more to occur. However, in this situation, if a woman has reached the age of menopause (i.e. 55 years) and menses do not occur, then her ‘Iddat will be of three months.

وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم

Answered by: Abu Huzayfah Muhammad Shafeeq Attari Madani

Verified by: Mufti Muhammad Qasim Attari