for the slave woman who has reached menopause via the months, so it is three months, like the istibra' of a slave woman when one comes to own her or her master dies. Also, because the consideration of months here is for the purpose of knowing the purity of her womb, and this does not materialize without three months in both the free woman and the slave woman; because the pregnancy is a nutfah (drop) for forty days, [and a blood clot for forty days], then it becomes a lump, then it moves, and the woman's belly rises, so the pregnancy becomes apparent. This is a meaning that does not differ by servitude or freedom, and that is why the istibra' of a slave woman for her master is three months. Whoever rejects this narration says: It is contrary to the consensus of the Companions, for they disagreed on the two aforementioned opinions, and whenever the Companions disagree on two opinions, it is not permitted to originate a third opinion, for that leads to proving them wrong and the truth falling outside of all their opinions, and that is not permissible. Moreover, she is a woman observing 'idda for something other than pregnancy, so it is less than the 'idda of a free woman, like the woman who has menstrual cycles whose husband has died.

Section: There is a difference in narration from Ahmad regarding the age at which a woman becomes among those who have reached menopause. According to one narration, it begins at fifty years, because Aisha said: "A woman will not see a child in her womb after fifty years." According to another narration, if she is from the non-Arab women, it is fifty, and if she is from the Arab women, it is sixty, because they are stronger in constitution. Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar mentioned in his book "Al-Nasab" that Hind bint Abi Ubaydah ibn Abd Allah ibn Zam'ah gave birth to Musa ibn Abd Allah ibn Hasan ibn Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib when she was sixty years old. He said: It is said that no woman will give birth after fifty years except an Arab woman, and none will give birth after sixty except a Qurayshi woman.