of respect, increasing caution in upholding their rights, preserving their hearts, and maintaining their affection; therefore, it is not permissible to act contrary to that. And Allah knows best.

1165 - Issue: He said: "If he alludes to her while she is in her waiting period (iddah) by saying: 'I am someone who desires someone like you,' or 'If something is decreed, it shall be,' or similar words that indicate to her his desire for her, then there is no harm in it, provided he does not express it explicitly."

The summary of this is that those women observing a waiting period are of three types: one observing a waiting period due to death, or a triple divorce, or an annulment of the marriage due to a prohibition, such as an annulment due to breastfeeding, or li'an (imprecation), or similar cases where she is not lawful for her husband afterward. For this type, it is permissible to allude to proposing to her during her waiting period, according to the words of Allah the Almighty: {And there is no blame on you regarding what you allude to in proposing to women}. This is also based on what Fatima bint Qays narrated, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to her when her husband divorced her three times: "When you have become lawful (i.e., finished your iddah), inform me." In another narration: "Do not let yourself get ahead of me." And in another: "Do not let yourself escape us." This is an allusion to proposing to her during her waiting period. It is not permissible to express it explicitly, because when Allah the Almighty specified allusion with permissibility, it indicated the prohibition of explicit expression. Furthermore, explicit expression does not admit any meaning other than marriage, so one cannot be certain that her eagerness for it might lead her to report the completion of her waiting period before it has actually finished, whereas allusion is the opposite of this. The second category is the revocable divorcee (raj'iyyah), for whom it is not permissible for anyone to allude to a proposal, nor to express it explicitly, because she is in the legal status of wives; thus, she is like the one who...