27/55. Chapter:
Sunan an-Nasai 3502 — Widow Iddah and Kohl
The 'Iddah Of A Woman Whose Husband Dies
Hadith About Widow Iddah and Kohl After Husband’s Death
Sunan an-Nasai : 3502
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 3502
أَخْبَرَنِي إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، قَالَ أَنْبَأَنَا جَرِيرٌ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدِ بْنِ قَيْسِ بْنِ قَهْدٍ الأَنْصَارِيِّ، - وَجَدُّهُ قَدْ أَدْرَكَ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم - عَنْ حُمَيْدِ بْنِ نَافِعٍ عَنْ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ عَنْ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ وَأُمِّ حَبِيبَةَ قَالَتَا جَاءَتِ امْرَأَةٌ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَتْ إِنَّ ابْنَتِي تُوُفِّيَ عَنْهَا زَوْجُهَا وَإِنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَى عَيْنِهَا أَفَأَكْحُلُهَا فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " قَدْ كَانَتْ إِحْدَاكُنَّ تَجْلِسُ حَوْلاً وَإِنَّمَا هِيَ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا فَإِذَا كَانَ الْحَوْلُ خَرَجَتْ وَرَمَتْ وَرَاءَهَا بِبَعْرَةٍ " .
Umm Salamah and Umm Habibah Narrated from:
A woman came to the Prophet and said: 'My daughter's husband has died, and I am worried about her eyes. Can I apply kohl to her?' The Messenger of Allah said: 'One of you used to stay (in mourning) for a year. Rather (the mourning period is) four months and ten (days). And when that year had passed she would go out and fling a piece of dung behind her.'
[1] See no. 3563.Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 3502In-book reference : Book 27, Hadith 114English translation : Vol. 4, Book 27, Hadith 3532
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 3502
This hadith gives a direct answer about widow iddah and kohl. A woman came to the Prophet and said that her daughter’s husband had died, and she was worried about her daughter’s eyes. She asked if she could apply kohl to her. The Prophet replied by mentioning the earlier practice of mourning for a year and then said that the period is four months and ten days. The report also mentions an old custom of coming out after a year and throwing a piece of dung behind her. The hadith teaches that the fixed mourning period for a widow is not a full year, but four months and ten days.
What we learn from this hadith
- A widow’s mourning period is four months and ten days.
- The Prophet answered the question about kohl within the issue of mourning.
- The old one-year mourning practice was not kept as the final ruling in this report.
- The hadith shows people asked the Prophet about real family concerns.
