Q: I am a working lady. In the iddat period I want to work from home so can I talk over the phone to non mahram (marriageable male)? I am taking Khula, what will be my iddat period?

A: It will be permissible for you to work from home. If necessary you may speak to the non Mahram according to need.

The Iddat period is the same as for a divorced woman:

For a woman who experiences Haidh (monthly menses) the Iddah is three Haidh. For a woman who does not experience Haidh it is three months and for a pregnant woman it is delivery of her baby.

Moulana Yusuf Laher

Q: If your husband has given you all 3 talaaqs (divorces) via sms what is your iddah (waiting) period ? I have heard that it's just 40 days but have learned that it supposed to be 3 menstrual cycles.

A: The Iddah period is three menstrual cycles.

Moulana Yusuf Laher

Q: My husband passed away on the 29th of October 2012 when will my iddat (waiting) period be over?

A: The Iddat period is one hundred and thirty days. Thus it will end on 08 March 2013.

Moulana Yusuf Laher

Q: I would like to know if a lady is under iddah after the loss of her husband and she has to see her doctor during that time, is she allowed?

A: If necessary, she will be allowed. She must spend the minimum time outside and return immediately.

Moulana Yusuf Laher

Q: During iddah (waiting period after divorce by husband or his death) is a lady's visit to her son's house justified or not?

A. She is not allowed to leave the Iddah home during her Iddah. If a woman observing Iddah is in real danger of losing life or limb, or suffers from overwhelming fear when alone, then she may leave her home and stay in a safer place. (Fataawa Hindiyyah V1 P535, Aljauharatun Nayyirah V4 P310).

For reasons other than this she is not allowed to leave the Iddah home.

Allah Ta'aala knows best.

Moulana Yusuf Laher
Checked by: Mufti Siraj Desai

Q: Could you please explain all the details pertaining to a woman in iddat (widow). How should she receive visitors including non-mehrams?

A: Whether the woman is in Iddat or not, only those classified as 'Mahram' i.e. those who can never marry her, e.g. brother, uncle, etc. are allowed to see her.

IDDAT E WAFAAT - UPON THE DEATH OF THE HUSBAND
The iddat of wafaat or death commences from the date of death of the husband. Hence, if the wife only learns of his death a few days later, she is still obliged to calculate her iddat period from the day he died, not from the day she learnt of his death. It should be remembered that in the iddat-e-wafaat consummation of marriage is not a necessity. So even if the husband passes away immediately after marriage, before coming together with his wife, she still has to observe the iddat-e-wafaat.  In this case the iddat has been imposed as a period of mourning and grief, not to determine any state of the womb.

Duration of this iddat
The iddat-e-wafaat is four months and ten days. If she is pregnant then her iddat expires as soon as she delivers her child. (See details of a pregnant woman’s iddat under a separate heading further on.) It should however be noted here that delivery of the baby will only be considered as termination of the iddat if the wife was already pregnant at the time of her husband's demise. If this was not the case, and the pregnancy only became apparent after the husband's death then she will have to observe iddat of three months, which is the iddat of a woman who does not menstruate. This is because during pregnancy a woman does not have her menses. Her iddat will, therefore, be three months.