Does the Iddah period of a woman change if her husband passes away whilst she is already in Iddah?

Q. If a woman is given a divorce and her husband passes away whilst she is in Iddat, does her Iddat change in any way?

A. If a husband issues Talaaq to his wife and he passes away whilst she is observing the Iddah period, there are three situations that would apply:

1. If the wife was pregnant, the Iddah period (of Talaaq & Death) expires upon the birth of the child.
2. If the wife was issued a revocable divorce (Talaaq Rajee’), the Iddah period of divorce changes to the Iddah period of death. In that case, she must observe the Iddah period of 4 Months and 10 days.
3. If the wife was issued an irrevocable divorce (Talaaq Baain), the longer of the two Iddah periods (Iddah of divorce & Iddah of death) must be observed. As an example, if the Iddah period of divorce (3 menstrual cycles) is longer than the Iddah period of death (4 Months and 10 days), the Iddah period of 3 menstrual cycles must be observed. However, if the Iddah period of death (4 Months and 10 days) is longer than the Iddah period of divorce (3 menstrual cycles), then the Iddah period of 4 Months and 10 days must be observed. (Fataawa Darul Uloom Zakariyya 4/310)

Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

Mufti Ismaeel Bassa

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