27/67. Chapter:
Sunan an-Nasai 3539 — Four Months and Ten Days, Not One Year
Prohibition Of Kohl For A Woman In Mourning
Widow Mourning Period: Four Months and Ten Days, Not a Year
Sunan an-Nasai : 3539
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 3539
أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ حُمَيْدِ بْنِ نَافِعٍ، عَنْ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أُمِّهَا، أَنَّ امْرَأَةً، أَتَتِ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَسَأَلَتْهُ عَنِ ابْنَتِهَا مَاتَ زَوْجُهَا وَهِيَ تَشْتَكِي قَالَ " قَدْ كَانَتْ إِحْدَاكُنَّ تَحِدُّ السَّنَةَ ثُمَّ تَرْمِي الْبَعْرَةَ عَلَى رَأْسِ الْحَوْلِ وَإِنَّمَا هِيَ أَرْبَعَةُ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا " .
Zainab bint Abi Salamah Narrated from:
A woman came to the Prophet and asked him about her daughter whose husband had died and she was ill. He said: "One of you used to mourn for a year, then throw a piece of dung when a year had passed. Rather it (the mourning period) is four months and ten days."
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 3539In-book reference : Book 27, Hadith 153English translation : Vol. 4, Book 27, Hadith 3569
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 3539
This hadith gives a concise comparison between an older mourning custom and the prescribed widow's period. A woman asked the Prophet about her daughter, whose husband had died while she was ill. In response, he recalled that women had once mourned for a full year and then thrown a piece of dung at the year's end. He then stated that the period is four months and ten days. The narration does not repeat the full question about treatment found in longer versions, so the main point here is the length of mourning. For readers searching for how long a widow mourns in Islam, this text gives a clear answer and contrasts it with the much longer earlier practice described in the report.
What we learn from this hadith
- The widow's stated mourning period is four months and ten days.
- The report contrasts this with an older one-year custom.
- The former practice ended with throwing a piece of dung.
- The hadith focuses on replacing the year-long period with the shorter prescribed term.
