whoever wishes, I will engage in mutual imprecation (mubahalah) or imprecation (li'an) with him that the verse in the shorter Surah al-Nisa': {And for those who are pregnant, their period is until they deliver their burden}, was revealed after the one in Surah al-Baqarah: {And those of you who die and leave behind wives} (9). This means that this verse is the latter, so it takes precedence over what contradicts it from the generality of the previous verse (10), and its generality is specified by it. Abdullah ibn al-Arqam narrated that Subay'ah al-Aslamiyyah informed him that she was married to Sa'd ibn Khawlah, and he died during the Farewell Pilgrimage while she was pregnant. She did not remain long until she delivered her fetus after his death. When she recovered (11) from her postpartum bleeding, she adorned herself for suitors. Abu al-Sanabil ibn Ba'kak entered upon her and said: "Why do I see you adorned? Perhaps you are hoping for marriage? By Allah, you will not be married until four months and ten days have passed over you." Subay'ah said: "When he said that to me, I gathered my garments when evening came and went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and asked him about that. He gave me a religious verdict (fatwa) that I had become lawful [to marry] when I delivered my fetus, and he ordered me to get married (12) if I wished." Agreed upon (13). Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: "This is a sahih (authentic) hadith, and it has come from various paths, all of which are established, except for what was narrated from Ibn 'Abbas, and what was narrated from 'Ali through a broken chain of transmission." And because she is a pregnant woman in a waiting period, her waiting period expires upon delivery, like a divorced woman. This is verified by the fact that the waiting period was only legislated to confirm her freedom from pregnancy, and delivery is the most indicative of things for freedom from it, so it is necessary that the waiting period expires with it (14). Furthermore, there is no disagreement regarding the continuation of the waiting period as long as the pregnancy remains, so it must expire with its delivery, just as in the case of the divorced woman.
(9) Surah al-Baqarah: 234. See also the report of Ibn Mas'ud in Tafsir al-Qurtubi 3/175. (10) In B and M: "al-ayat" (the verses). (11) 'Ta'allat min nifasiha': she became healthy/recovered. (12) In the copies: "al-tazwij". The wording maintained is from the two Sahih collections. (13) Recorded by al-Bukhari in: Chapter on 'Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Ju'fi narrated to me, from the Book of Military Expeditions (Maghazi), Sahih al-Bukhari 5/102, 103. And by Muslim in: Chapter on the expiration of the waiting period for a woman whose husband has died and others by delivery of the fetus, from the Book of Suckling, Sahih Muslim 2/1122. It was also recorded by Abu Dawud in: Chapter on the waiting period of the pregnant woman, from the Book of Divorce, Sunan Abi Dawud 1/538, 539. (14) Omitted from A, B, and M.
شاء باهَلْتُه أو لَاعَنْتُه، أنَّ الآيةَ التى فى سُورةِ النِّساءِ القُصْرَى: {وَأُولَاتُ الْأَحْمَالِ أَجَلُهُنَّ أَنْ يَضَعْنَ حَمْلَهُنَّ}. نزلَتْ بعدَ التى فى سورةِ البقرةِ: {وَالَّذِينَ يُتَوَفَّوْنَ مِنْكُمْ وَيَذَرُونَ أَزْوَاجًا} (٩). يعنى أن هذه الآيةَ هى الأخيرةُ، فتقَدَّم على ما خالَفَها من عُمومِ الآيَةِ (١٠) المتقدِّمةِ، ويُخَصُّ بها عُمومُها. ورَوَى عبدُ اللَّه بن الأَرْقَمِ، أن سُبَيْعةَ الأَسْلَمِيَّةَ أخْبَرَتْه، أنَّها كانتْ تحتَ سعدِ بن خَوْلَةَ، وتُوُفِّى عنها فى حَجَّةِ الوَداعِ وهى حاملٌ، فلم تَنْشَبْ أن وَضَعَتْ حَمْلَها بعدَ وَفاتِه، فلما تَعَلَّتْ (١١) من نِفَاسِها، تجَمّلَتْ للخُطَّابِ، فدَخَلَ عليها أبو السَّنَابلِ بنُ بَعْكَكٍ، فقال: مالى أراكِ مُتَجَمِّلةً، لعلَّك ترَجِّينَ النِّكاحَ؟ إنَّكِ واللهِ ما أنتِ بناكِحٍ حتَّى تَمُرَّ عليك أربعةُ أشْهُرٍ وعَشْرٌ. قالتْ سُبَيْعةُ: فلما قال لى ذلك، جَمَعْتُ علىَّ ثيابِى حينَ أمْسَيْتُ، فأتَيْتُ رسولَ اللَّه -صلى اللَّه عليه وسلم-، فسأَلْتُه عن ذلك، فأفْتانِى بأنِّى قد حَلَلْتُ حينَ وَضَعْتُ حَمْلِى، فأمَرَنِى بالتَّزَوُّجِ (١٢) إنْ بَدَا لى. مُتَّفَقٌ عليه (١٣). وقال ابنُ عبدِ الْبرِّ: هذا حديثٌ صحيحٌ، قد جاء من وُجُوهٍ شَتَّى، كلُّها ثابتةٌ، إلَّا ما رُوِىَ عن ابن عباسٍ، ورُوِىَ عن عليٍّ من وَجْهٍ مُنْقَطِعٍ. ولأنَّها مُعْتَدَّةٌ حامِلٌ، فتَنْقَضِى عِدّتُها بوَضْعِه كالمُطلَّقةِ، يُحَقِّقُه أنَّ العِدَّةَ إنَّما شُرِعَتْ لمَعْرِفةِ بَرَاءَتِها من الحملِ، وَوَضْعُه أدَلُّ الأشياءِ على البَراءةِ منه، فوَجَبَ أن تَنْقَضِىَ به (١٤) العِدَّةُ، ولأنَّه لا خِلافَ فى بَقاء العِدَّةِ ببَقاءِ الحملِ، فوَجَبَ أن تنْقَضِىَ به، كما فى حَقِّ المُطَلَّقةِ.
(٩) سورة البقرة ٢٣٤. وانظر لأثر ابن مسعود تفسير القرطبى ٣/ ١٧٥.(١٠) فى ب، م: "الآيات".(١١) تعلَّت من نفاسها: سَلِمتْ.(١٢) فى النسخ: "التزويج". والمثبت من الصحيحين.(١٣) أخرجه البخارى، فى؛ باب حدثنى عبد اللَّه بن محمد الجعفى، من كتاب المغازى. صحيح البخارى ٥/ ١٠٢، ١٠٣. ومسلم، فى: باب انقضاء عدة المتوفى عنها زوجها وغيرها بوضع الحمل، من كتاب الرضاع. صحيح مسلم ٢/ ١١٢٢.كما أخرجه أبو داود، فى: باب فى عدة الحامل، من كتاب الطلاق. سنن أبي داود ١/ ٥٣٨، ٥٣٩.(١٤) سقط من: أ، ب، م.
