The Iddat of a Woman in Islam
By
Prof.
Gabriel Sawma
In Islamic marriages, a marriage is considered void, if the divorced
wife, or widow after the death of her husband, gets married before the
expiration of the period of iddat, which is incumbent upon the divorced
wife, or widow to observe.
The iddat of a woman arising on divorce is three courses, if
she is subject to menstruation; if not, it terminates at the expiration of
three months from the date of divorce.
The iddat of a woman arising on widowhood is four months and
ten days. But if the woman is pregnant, the period of iddat does not
terminate until she gives birth to the infant.
There is no iddat for a woman whose divorce is revocable,
because such a divorce is not final. For an iddat to be observed, the
divorce must be irrevocable.
The iddat is assigned for women only; it does not apply to
men unless the husband intends to marry the sister of his divorced wife; in
such a case, he has to wait until the iddat of his first wife expires.
Thus the iddat in this case, is not for the husband, but rather to his
former wife.
A Divorced Wife after Iddat
It is important to note that the wife who has been divorced must
observe the iddat. Once the divorce is irrevocable and the iddat period is expired,
the first husband cannot change his mind by simply remarrying his divorced wife
and restart their marriage again. Under the rules of Islamic sharia, the wife
must first remarry, legally, another man and get an Islamic divorce from him.
Only then she can go back to her first husband and restart a new marriage
contract. This is based on the Quran, which reads:
“Divorce is
twice; then honorable retention or setting free kindly. It is not lawful for
you to take of what you have given them unless the couple fears they may not
maintain Alla’s bounds; if you fear they may not maintain Allah’s bounds, it is
not fault in them for her to redeem herself. Those are Alla’s bounds; do not
transgress them. Whosoever transgresses the bound of Allah—those are the evildoers.
If he divorces her finally, she shall not be lawful to him after that, until
she marries another husband. If he divorces her, then it is not fault in
them to return to each other, if they suppose that they will maintain Allah’s
bounds. Those are Allah’s bounds; He makes them clear unto a people that have
knowledge.” (quran 2:229-230).
A divorced Muslim woman gets “nafaqa” (alimony) during the period
of iddat.
As
Expert Consultant on Islamic divorce obtained from the Middle East, Central
Asia and other Islamic nations, this author has been privileged to have been able
to defend clients, successfully, by submitting legal opinions and affidavits in
their support on issues related to
Islamic divorce to State and Federal Courts and to Immigration Boards. Some of
these cases have been reported by major U.S. law journals.
Following
is a landmark case at New York Supreme Court of Westchester County, in which
this author submitted an affidavit on behalf of a client. The honorable Court
agreed with our argument and granted the client recognition of a divorce decree
obtained in Abu Dhabi, including custody of children and a mahr of $250,000.
You may read the judgment of the Supreme Court on the following link:
DISCLAIMER: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of
this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual
situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer.
For specific or legal advice on the information provided and related topics,
please contact the author.
Gabriel Sawma is a lawyer with
Middle East background, and a recognized authority on Islamic law of marriage, divorce
and custody of children; Professor of Middle East Constitutional Law and
Islamic law; Expert Consultant on Islamic divorce in US Courts and Canada;
admitted to the Lebanese Bar Association; former Associate Member of the New
York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
Prof. Sawma lectured at the American Academy of
Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) in New York State and wrote many affidavits to
immigration authorities, Federal Courts, and family State Courts in connection
with recognition of Islamic foreign divorces in the U.S. He also travelled to
Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Gulf States, and wrote extensively on Islamic
divorce in USA and abroad. Interviewed by:
Contact Information:
Email:
gabrielsawma@yahoo.com
Tel.
(609) 915-2237
Or
visit our websites at the following links:
For more
information on the author, please see this link:
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