An Innovation Some Widows Do After Their ‘Iddah (Mourning Period) Ends

Moderator: The questioner says: there is no doubt that the widow’s ‘idda (mourning period) is four months and ten days, as stated in the Noble Qur’an. And when the ‘idda (mourning period) is over – the questioner now mentions something that occurs in his area that opposes Islam - he says: And when the ‘idda (mourning period) ends on the night of the eleventh (day), after the completion of the four months, this widow and some other women go out to a mosque with incense. Then, after performing two rak'ahs (i.e., in the mosque), she leaves the mosque with several stones. Then she throws these stones on several pathways. It is said that whoever is hit by these stones will die, etc. This is what occurs in my area, we want a detailed clarification regarding this. May Allah reward you. Sheikh: There is no doubt that this is a bid’ah (innovation). It is similar to what women used to do in the Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic time of ignorance), since the woman at that time used to throw a globe of dung when one-year elapsed. [See: Bukhari 5337] It is not permissible for a woman to do such an act. If the widow’s idda (mourning period) is over, whether by completion of the four months and ten days, or by delivery if she was pregnant, then that only means that the rulings of mourning are over. It does not mean that she is commanded to go out, or do as the questioner mentioned, or to carry food with her the first time she goes out and donate it to the first person she comes across. All these things are not from the Sharia (Islamic law). Rather if the idda (mourning period) is over, it only means that it is permissible for her to do what she was forbidden from before it ended. She removes her (previous) clothes and wears the clothes she likes, puts on perfume, wears jewelry, and does what she was prohibited from doing whilst mourning. The moderator: Here is another message from the listener… The Sheikh: Also, when we say, “she does,” it doesn’t mean we require her to do so. Rather we simply allow her to do so.