27/55. Chapter:
Sunan an-Nasai 3501 — Widow Mourning and Kohl
The 'Iddah Of A Woman Whose Husband Dies
Hadith About Widow Mourning and Kohl in Islam
Sunan an-Nasai : 3501
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 3501
أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الأَعْلَى، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدٌ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ حُمَيْدِ بْنِ نَافِعٍ، عَنْ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ، قُلْتُ عَنْ أُمِّهَا، قَالَ نَعَمْ إِنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم سُئِلَ عَنِ امْرَأَةٍ تُوُفِّيَ عَنْهَا زَوْجُهَا فَخَافُوا عَلَى عَيْنِهَا أَتَكْتَحِلُ فَقَالَ " قَدْ كَانَتْ إِحْدَاكُنَّ تَمْكُثُ فِي بَيْتِهَا فِي شَرِّ أَحْلاَسِهَا حَوْلاً ثُمَّ خَرَجَتْ فَلاَ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا " .
Zainab bint Umm Salamah Narrated from:
It was narrated from Zainab bint Umm Salamah -I (the narrator) said: "From her mother?" He said: "Yes" - "that the Prophet was asked about a woman whose husband had died but they were worried about her eyes - could she use kohl?" He said: "One of you used to stay in her house wearing her shabbiest clothes for a year, then she would come out. No, (the mourning period is) four months and ten (days)."
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 3501In-book reference : Book 27, Hadith 113English translation : Vol. 4, Book 27, Hadith 3531
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 3501
This hadith speaks about a woman whose husband had died and whose family worried about her eyes. They asked if she could use kohl. The Prophet answered by pointing to the old practice where a woman stayed in a poor state for a whole year, then made clear that the mourning period is four months and ten days. The hadith about widow mourning and kohl shows that the Prophet corrected older customs and fixed the time of mourning. The main point in the text is the length of the waiting and mourning period after a husband dies. It is often searched with phrases like kohl during iddah, widow mourning hadith, and four months ten days iddah.
What we learn from this hadith
- The widow’s mourning period is four months and ten days.
- The Prophet corrected the old one-year mourning custom mentioned in the report.
- Questions about a widow’s conduct should be answered by the Prophet’s guidance.
- The hadith directly discusses kohl in the setting of mourning after a husband’s death.
