Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that Fatima bint Qais does not fear Allah. Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was referring to her statement (that it is not necessary to provide maintenance and residence to a woman who has been irrevocably divorced) (who says that a woman upon whom an irrevocable divorce has been pronounced is not entitled to residence and maintenance).

Urwah bin Zubair narrated from Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said, "Do you not see the case of so-and-so (Umrah) bint Hakam? Her husband gave her an irrevocable divorce and she left (the house) without completing her waiting period." Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "What she did was very bad." Urwah said, "Have you not heard about the incident of Fatimah (bint Qais)?" She replied, "There is no good in mentioning that hadith for her."

Hazrat Subai’ah bint Harith narrated that she was married to Sa’d bin Khawlah (may Allah be pleased with him), who belonged to Banu ‘Amir bin Lu’ayy and was among those who participated in the Battle of Badr. Then, during the Farewell Pilgrimage, he passed away while she was pregnant. Only a few days after the death of Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Khawlah (may Allah be pleased with him), she gave birth to a child. After completing the days of postnatal bleeding, she dressed in good clothes for those who might send proposals of marriage. At that time, a companion from Banu ‘Abdud-Dar, Abu As-Sanabil bin Ba’kak, came to her and said,“I think you have adorned yourself for those who might send marriage proposals. Do you intend to marry? But, by Allah, you cannot marry until four months and ten days have passed after (the death of Sayyiduna Sa’d, may Allah be pleased with him).”Subai’ah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that when Abu As-Sanabil said this to her, she put on her clothes in the evening and went to the service of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to ask him about this issue. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told her that after giving birth to the child, her waiting period (‘iddah) had ended, and if she wished, she could marry.

Abu Salamah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that a man came to Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas while Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) was also sitting with him. The visitor asked, "Tell me the ruling about a woman whose husband died and she gave birth to a child four months after his death." Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas said, "A woman whose husband dies should observe the longer of the two waiting periods." I said, "(But in the Holy Qur'an, the ruling for their waiting period is) the waiting period for pregnant women is until they deliver their pregnancy (Al-Talaq 4)." Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "I am also with my nephew in this matter" (he meant Abu Salamah bin Abdur Rahman). Eventually, Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas sent his servant Kuraib to Umm al-Mu'mineen Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) to ask about this issue. Umm al-Mu'mineen informed that Subai'ah Aslamiyyah's husband (Sa'd bin Khawlah) was martyred while she was pregnant. Forty days after her husband's death, she gave birth to a child. Then a marriage proposal came to her, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) married her off. Abu Sanabil was also among those who sent her a marriage proposal.

Sayyida Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that I went to the purified wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her), at the time when her father, Abu Sufyan bin Harb (may Allah be pleased with him), had passed away. Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her) asked for perfume, in which there was the yellowish color of Khaluq perfume or some other mixture. Then a slave girl applied that perfume to her, and the Mother of the Believers herself applied it to her cheeks. After that, she said, "By Allah, I had no desire to use perfume, but I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: 'It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for anyone for more than three days, except for her husband (for whom the mourning period is) four months and ten days.'"

Sayyida Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that after this, I went to the Mother of the Believers, Zainab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her), at the time when her brother had passed away. She also asked for perfume and used it, and said, "By Allah, I had no desire to use perfume, but I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say from the pulpit: 'It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for any deceased person for more than three days, except for her husband, for whom the mourning period is four months and ten days.'"

Zainab bint Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that I also heard Umm Salamah say that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, my daughter's husband has passed away and she has pain in her eyes, so can she apply kohl?" The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) replied, "No," two or three times (he said this). Each time he would say, "No." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "This (prescribed waiting period) is only four months and ten days. In the time of ignorance, you used to throw dung for a whole year (when the waiting period would be completed)."

Humaid (the narrator of the hadith) said that I asked Zainab bint Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), "What does it mean that she used to throw dung for a whole year?" She replied, "In the time of ignorance, when a woman's husband died, she would enter a very narrow and dark room, wear the worst clothes, and abandon the use of perfume, until a whole year would pass in that state. Then a beast—donkey, goat, or bird—would be brought to her, and she would touch it to come out of her waiting period. It was rare that she would touch an animal and it would not die. After that, she would be taken out and given dung, which she would throw away. Now she could use perfume or anything else." Imam Malik (one of the narrators of the hadith) was asked, "What does 'taftaddu bihi' mean?" He replied, "She would touch its body."

Lady Umm 'Atiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that we were forbidden (by the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him) from mourning over any deceased person for more than three days, except in the case of a husband's death, for which the mourning period was four months and ten days. During these days, we would not apply kohl, nor use perfume, and we would not wear any colored garment except for 'Asb (a cloth made in Yemen which was also colored). And we were permitted (during the days of 'iddah) to use kust azfar after the ritual bath following menstruation.