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janetyu · member Joined: 14 Jan 2010 Posts: 60 Location: Norway

What is ‘Iddah?

jerrys1960 · Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 11:48 am Post subject:

‘Iddah is the amount of time the woman must wait before taking a new husband or partner after a marriage is terminated. Varies between 1 to 3 menstrual cycles depending on the reason for the end of the marriage.
It is obligatory upon every woman who leaves her husband, or whose husband leaves her, whether the cause is talaaq (divorce), annulment of the marriage or the death of the husband, except when the divorce occurs before the marriage has been consummated, in which case the woman does not have to observe ‘iddah.

It seems that this rule was mostly put in place for 2 reasons:

To make sure the female is not pregnant and to give the male time to reconsider the divorce and take the female back.