27/67. Chapter:
Sunan an-Nasai 3540 — Widow Iddah of Four Months and Ten Days
Prohibition Of Kohl For A Woman In Mourning
Widow Iddah: Four Months and Ten Days
Sunan an-Nasai : 3540
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 3540
أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مَعْدَانَ بْنِ عِيسَى بْنِ مَعْدَانَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ أَعْيَنَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرُ بْنُ مُعَاوِيَةَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ حُمَيْدِ بْنِ نَافِعٍ، مَوْلَى الأَنْصَارِ عَنْ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ، أَنَّ امْرَأَةً، مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ جَاءَتْ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَتْ إِنَّ ابْنَتِي تُوُفِّيَ عَنْهَا زَوْجُهَا وَقَدْ خِفْتُ عَلَى عَيْنِهَا وَهِيَ تُرِيدُ الْكُحْلَ فَقَالَ " قَدْ كَانَتْ إِحْدَاكُنَّ تَرْمِي بِالْبَعْرَةِ عَلَى رَأْسِ الْحَوْلِ وَإِنَّمَا هِيَ أَرْبَعَةُ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا " . فَقُلْتُ لِزَيْنَبَ مَا رَأْسُ الْحَوْلِ قَالَتْ كَانَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ إِذَا هَلَكَ زَوْجُهَا عَمَدَتْ إِلَى شَرِّ بَيْتٍ لَهَا فَجَلَسَتْ فِيهِ حَتَّى إِذَا مَرَّتْ بِهَا سَنَةٌ خَرَجَتْ فَرَمَتْ وَرَاءَهَا بِبَعْرَةٍ .
Umm Salamah Narrated from:
A woman from the Quraish came to the Messenger of Allah and said: "My daughter's husband has died, and I am worried about her eyes; she needs kohl." He said: "One of you used to throw a piece of dung after a year had passed. Rather it (the mourning period) is four months and ten days." I (the narrator) said to Zainab: "What does 'after a year had passed' mean?" She said: "During the Jahiliyyah, if a woman's husband died she would go to the worst room she had and stay there, then, when a year had passed, she would come out and throw a piece of dung behind her."
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 3540In-book reference : Book 27, Hadith 154English translation : Vol. 4, Book 27, Hadith 3570
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 3540
This Hadith explains the widow iddah period in a clear and memorable way. A Qurayshi woman asked about her widowed daughter's need for kohl because she feared harm to her eyes. The Messenger of Allah answered by stressing that the mourning period is four months and ten days. He contrasted this set term with the older Jahiliyyah practice, when a widow stayed in the worst room available for a full year and then ended that period by throwing a piece of dung behind her. The main teaching is the fixed waiting period after a husband's death. The report also shows that a practical question about kohl was answered within the wider rule of mourning and iddah for a widow.
What we learn from this hadith
- A widow's stated mourning period is four months and ten days.
- The Hadith replaces the described year-long Jahiliyyah custom with a shorter fixed term.
- Personal care questions during iddah should be considered in light of the stated mourning period.
