Answer by Shaykh Yūsuf Badāt
Question:
A lady failed to sit in ‘iddah (ritual waiting period prior to remarriage) after her divorce and the ‘iddah period is now over. Is she allowed to get married to someone else bearing in mind she did not sit in ‘iddah from her first marriage?
Thank you / Jazāk Allāh for your question. May Allāh bless one and all with strength and divine ability to follow the injunctions of the Qurʿān.
Answer:
‘Iddah (waiting period for a divorced or widowed woman) begins immediately after a divorce or death of one’s husband. Once the stipulated time for ‘iddah lapses, the woman in concern, is free to marry if she wishes, whether she appropriately observed the ‘iddah or not.
The great jurist, Imam Abul Ḥasan Al Qudūrī writes in his fiqh manual,
“The beginning of the ‘iddah due to divorce follows the divorce, and the ‘iddah due to the death of the husband follows the demise. If she did not know of the divorce or of the death of her husband, until such time that the period of ‘iddah elapsed, then her ‘iddah has elapsed” (Mukhtaṣar Al Qudūrī)
‘Abd Allāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allāh be pleased with him) states,
“ʿIddah begins the day the husband dies or divorces” (Muṣannaf ibn Abī Shaybah)
And Allāh Knows Best
