what we will mention in the issue that follows this one, if Allah the Almighty wills.

1351 - Issue: He said: (And if he divorces her, or dies leaving her, while she is pregnant by him, her waiting period does not expire except by the delivery of the fetus, whether she is a slave woman or a free woman).

The scholars of all eras have reached a consensus that the waiting period of a pregnant divorced woman expires upon the delivery of her fetus. The same applies to every woman separated [from her husband] during his life. They also reached a consensus that for a woman whose husband has died, if she is pregnant, her term is the delivery of her fetus, with the exception of Ibn 'Abbas. It was narrated from 'Ali, through a broken chain of transmission, that she observes the longer of the two periods. Abu al-Sanabil ibn Ba'kak stated this during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), but the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rejected his statement. It has been narrated that Ibn 'Abbas returned to the position of the majority when the hadith of Subay'ah reached him. Al-Hasan and al-Sha'bi disliked that she should marry while still in her bleeding period. It is related from Hammad and Ishaq that her waiting period does not expire until she is purified. All other scholars rejected this view and said: If she were to deliver an hour after the death of her husband, it becomes lawful for her to marry, but her husband should not have intercourse with her until she is purified from her postpartum bleeding (nifas) and performs ghusl; this is due to the saying of Allah the Almighty: {And for those who are pregnant, their period is until they deliver their burden}. It is narrated from Ubayy ibn Ka'b, who said: I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): {And for those who are pregnant, their period is until they deliver their burden}, is it for the woman divorced thrice or for the one whose husband has died? He said: ["It is for the woman divorced thrice and for the one whose husband has died"]. Ibn Mas'ud said: 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).