I asked Abu 'Abd Allah about the hadith of 'Amr ibn al-'Aas, and he said: "It is not authentic." Al-Maymuni said: "I saw Abu 'Abd Allah expressing surprise at this hadith of 'Amr ibn al-'Aas, then he said: 'Where is the sunnah of the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) in this?' He said: 'Four months and ten days is the waiting period for a free woman due to marriage, whereas this is a slave woman who has moved from slavery to freedom.' It is necessary for whoever says this to also grant her inheritance. There is no basis for the argument of one who says she observes a waiting period of three menstrual cycles; only a divorced woman observes that, and she is neither divorced nor in the status of a divorced woman. As for their analogy of her to wives, it is not valid, because she is not a wife, nor is she in the legal status of a wife, nor is she divorced, nor in the status of a divorced woman.

Section: A single period of purity is not sufficient for istibra' (verification of purity), nor is a portion of a menstrual cycle. This is the opinion of the majority of scholars. Some of Malik's companions said: "When she enters into the menstrual cycle, her istibra' is complete," and claimed this is the view of Malik. Al-Shafi'i, in one of his two opinions, said: "A single period of purity is sufficient if it is complete; which is that he dies during her period of purity, so if she sees the blood of the second menstrual cycle, she is permitted and her istibra' is complete." This is the nature of the disagreement regarding all istibra', and they based this on the view that the quru' (menstrual cycles/purity periods) are periods of purity. This is refuted by the statement of the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace): "A pregnant woman shall not be engaged in intercourse until she delivers, and a non-pregnant woman shall not be engaged in intercourse until she is verified by a menstrual cycle." Ruwayfi' ibn Thabit said: "I heard the Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) say on the day of Khaybar: 'Whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him not have intercourse with a slave girl taken as booty until he verifies her purity by a menstrual cycle.'" It was narrated by al-Athram. This is explicit, so no reliance should be placed on what contradicts it. This is because the requirement is istibra', and that which indicates the absence of pregnancy is menstruation, for a pregnant woman does not menstruate. As for the period of purity, it provides no evidence of the absence of pregnancy; therefore, it is not permissible to rely for istibra' upon that which offers no evidence for it, over that which does.