SHAFAQNA – The Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Muhammad Saeed Hakim has answered some questions about the Waiting Period after Divorce (Iddah). Here is the text of the questions and answers:
Question: If a woman during her Idda has a miscarriage, is her Idda completed? If she is forced to have an abortion to save her life, will the Idda end?
Answer: The waiting period ends with a miscarriage or abortion, even in cases where abortion is prohibited.
Question: Is it obligatory on the husband to stay with the wife during the iddah period?
Answer: It is obligatory on the husband to provide residence for his wife during the waiting period, iddah, of a revocable (rajâ’i) divorce.
Question: Due to the fact that the significance behind the Iddah period is so that the father can be identified adequately if the woman becomes pregnant, and due to the fact that contraception almost eliminates the chances of pregnancy, is there any need of observing the Iddah period when contraception has been used?
Answer: The reason behind the waiting period is not necessarily identifying the father if the woman is pregnant. If this was the reason, then it would have been sufficient for Almighty Allah the Divine Legislator to consider one menstrual cycle as a waiting period and not any longer duration. Almighty Allah knows the actual reason behind such legislation. Therefore, the Iddah must be observed even if contraception was used.
Question: If the woman is divorced and no sexual intercourse took place during last 3 months, then is it necessary for her to observe Iddah?
Answer: If the marriage is consummated i.e. intercourse took place even once, then she has to observe the Iddah.
Source: alhakeem.com
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