Ninety years pass, his wealth is divided. This implies that his wife observes the waiting period for death, then marries. Our companions said: He only considered ninety years from the day of his birth because it is apparent that he would not live longer than this age. So when it is coupled with the cutting off of his news, it becomes obligatory to judge him as deceased, just as if his absence were in a situation where the outward appearance suggests death. The first school of thought [is to not marry] because this is an absence where the outward appearance suggests safety, so it is not judged as death, just as it was not before the four years, or before the ninety years. Furthermore, this estimation is without a textual warrant (tawqif), and estimation should not be resorted to except by textual warrant. This is because estimating it at ninety years from the day of his birth leads to a difference in the waiting period ('idda) for the woman based on the husband's age, and there is no parallel for this. The report of 'Umar was regarding someone whose absence outwardly suggests destruction, so others are not to be compared to it. The second category is that his absence outwardly suggests destruction, such as one who is missing from among his family by night or by day, or leaves for prayer and does not return, or goes to a nearby place to fulfill a need and returns but no news of him appears, or he is missing from between two battle lines, or a vessel breaks with them and some of his companions drown, or he is missing in a place of destruction, such as the wilderness of the Hijaz and similar places. The school of Ahmad, according to the apparent view from him, is that his wife waits for four years—the longest period of pregnancy—then observes the waiting period for death of four months and ten days. And she becomes permissible for other husbands. Al-Athram said: It was said to Abu 'Abd Allah: Do you follow the hadith of 'Umar? He said: It is the best of them. It is narrated from 'Umar from eight sources. Then he said: They claimed that 'Umar retracted this. These are liars. I said: Then it was narrated from a weak source that 'Umar said otherwise? He said: No, unless there is a person who lies. I once said to him: A person said to me: Abu 'Abd Allah has abandoned his view on the missing person after you. He laughed and said: Whoever abandons this view, what does he say? And it is the view of 'Umar, 'Uthman, 'Ali, Ibn 'Abbas, and Ibn al-Zubayr. Ahmad said: Five of the companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.