Iddat

Introduction

• Iddah or Iddat is an Arabic term which means period of waiting and is observed
by Muslim women. It is a period of chastity which a Muslim woman is bound to
observe after the dissolution of her marriage due to the death of her husband or
by divorce before she can lawfully marry again. The reason behind observing
iddat period is to ascertain whether the woman is pregnant or not and to
acknowledge the certainty of paternity.
• This is period of prohibition applied married women. The prohibition is for
remarriage. Reason for this prohibition is to ascertain whether the women are
pregnant for avoiding future confusion of paternity.
• It is observed when marriage of women is dissolved which can be via Death of
husband or by Divorce.

Period of Iddat

1. Death:
• If the woman is pregnant, the period of iddat is until delivery or 4 months and
10 days whichever is longer.

2. Divorce:
(i) If a woman is subject the menstruation, the period of iddat upon divorce is
three courses.
(ii) If the woman is not subject to menstruation, it is three lunar months.
(iii) If the woman is pregnant at the times of divorce, the iddat lasts until
delivery whether it is less or more than three months. (The muslim
women (protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, Also adds
termination of pregnancy as end of iddat period)

Commencement of Iddat Period

If the marriage is dissolved by death, the period commences from the date of death;
in case of divorce, it commences from the date of divorce.
 • If the information of husband’s death or divorce does not reach the wife until
after the expiration of the period of iddat, then she is not bound to observe iddat.
• If the marriage is dissolved by death, observance of iddat by the wife is
compulsory whether there has been consummation or not. However, in case of
divorce, Iddat is compulsory only when the marriage is consummated.
• A marriage with a woman undergoing iddat is irregular.

Right and Duties during Iddat

(i) The husband is bound to maintain the wife during the period of iddat.
(ii) The wife cannot marry another person until completion of her iddat, and if
the husband has four wives including the divorced one, he cannot marry a
fifth wife until the completion of the divorced wife’s Iddat.
(iii) The wife is entitled to deferred dower, and if the prompt dower has not been
paid, it becomes immediately payable.
(iv) In the event of death of either party before the expiration of the iddat period,
the other is entitled to inherit from him or her in the capacity of wife or
husband, as the case may be,
If the divorce has not become irrevocable before the death of the deceased.
(v) If the divorce is pronounced in death-illness, and the husband dies before
the completion of wife’s iddat. The wife in entitled to inherit from him, even if
the divorce has become irrevocable prior to his death, unless the divorce has
been affected without her consent.

Rules of Iddat

Certain things are forbidden to muslim women during the period of iddat. In Muslim
Personal Law, the term ‘Haraam’ is used for strictly prohibited things such as –

• It is Haraam upon a woman to indulge into the activities of beautifying herself

through makeups or any other ways during iddat.
• She is forbidden to wear silken clothes or other gaudy dresses. No particular
colour is specified to wear during this period like black or white or any such,
just a simple and plain clothing would suffice.
• She is not allowed to leave house till the completion of iddat period unless
there is some emergency like requirement of basic needs or medical illness to
such extent that it is not possible to arrange for a house-call by a physician.
• She is obliged to mourn for her husband by praying to Allah (God) and
supplicating Allah-Subhanahu for her husband and for herself.
• There is no restriction of seeing the moon or the mirror as some people in the
name of islam try to enforce these restraints.
 Dower (Mahr) – Muslim Law

• Dower is a sum of money or other property promised by the husband to be paid

or delivered to the wife in consideration of marriage and even where no dower is
expressly fixed, the law confers the right of dower upon the wife as necessary
effect of marriage. (Justice Mahmood in Abdul Kadir v. Salima)
• It is neither a consideration nor a gift to the wife. It is a token of respect towards
wife or an acknowledgment of dignity of wife.
• It also provides a subsistence to wife after dissolution of marriage so that she may
not become helpless

Classification of
dower

Unspecified dower
Specified dower (Mahr-i- (Mabr-i-Mish) or
Musamma) Proper dower or
Customary dower

Deferred
Prompt (Muajjal)
(Mumajjal)

Specified Dower

• The amount is decided usually at the time of marriage, in case of minor

husband, his father has the power to make the contract of dower on behalf of
him. It is of two types.

1. Prompt Dower- Prompt dower is payable immediately after the marriage if

demanded by the wife. She may demand the same at any time before or after
consummation.
 • So long as the prompt dower remains unpaid, the wife may refuse to live with the
husband as a wife. Non-payment of prompt dower is also a complete defence in a
suit for restitution of conjugal rights filed before consummation.
• It does not become deferred after consummation of marriage, and a wife has
absolute right to sue for recovery of prompt dower even after consummation.
• It is only on the payment of the prompt dower that the husband becomes entitled to
enforce the conjugal rights unless the marriage is already consummated.
• If however, the suit is filed after consummation, the court, while decreeing
restitution would make it conditional on the payment of prompt dower.
• The right of restitution arises only after the dower has been paid.
• As it is payable on demand, limitation begins to run on demand or refusal. The
period of limitation for this purpose is three years.

2. Deferred Dower-
• Mahr which is payable on the dissolution of marriage by death or divorce or
on the happenings of a specified event is known as deferred dower. (If marriage is
dissolved by death of husband, dower is given from property of husband)
• Where it is not fixed at the time of marriage whether the dower is to be prompt
or deferred, then, according to the Shia law, the rule is to regard the whole as
prompt. According to the Sunni law, part is regarded as prompt and part as
deferred.
• On the dissolution of the marriage, the wife is entitled to the immediate payment
of the whole unpaid dower if the marriage was consummated; if the marriage was
not consummated; then she is entitled to only half the specified dower.
• If dower is not paid to the wife and she dies then her heirs could file a suit for the
payment of the dower within 3 Years.
• The widow may relinquish her dower at the time of her husband’s funeral by
the recital of a formula. Such a relinquishment must be a voluntary act of the
widow.
• The interest of the wife in the deferred dower is a vested one and not a
contingent one. It is not liable to be displaced by the happening of any event, not
even on her own death and as such her heirs can claim the money if she dies.

Unspecified Dower (Proper Dower)

• When the amount of the dower has not been settled or even when there is an
express stipulation at the time of the marriage that the wife will not claim any
dower, the wife is still entitled to proper or customary dower. The amount is fixed
at the discretion of the court. Is however, guided by the following considerations.
1. The social position of the bribe’s father’s family;
2. Her own personal qualification. ‘age, beauty, fortune, understanding and
 virtue’ must be taken into consideration;
3. The amount fixed upon her female paternal relations, e.g. sisters or paternal
aunts, who are considered to be her equals;
4. The social position of the husband
5. Customs and traditions prevalent.

Amount of Dower

• If it is fixed, it cannot be less than the minimum laid down by the law, which is 10
dirhams in case of Hanafi law and 3 dirhams in case of Maliki law.
• Under The Shia law, no minimum amount is prescribed. Under the Shia law, the
proper dower can never exceed 500 dirhams ( the dower fixed for prophet’s
daughter Fatima)
• Dower Amount can be increased but cannot be decreased by the husband after
marriage.

Remission of Dower

• The wife may remit the dower wholly or partially, for remitting the dower the
following conditions should be fulfilled
a. There should be free consent of wife ( no distress, force or pressure)
b. The wife should have attained puberty. ( She may or may not be Over 18 years
old)