‘Ubaydullah bin ‘Abdullah bin ‘Utbah narrates that his father wrote to ‘Umar bin ‘Abdullah bin Arqam al-Zuhri to go to Sabi‘ah bint Harith Aslamiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) and ask her about her hadith—what did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say to her when she sought a legal verdict from him? So ‘Umar bin ‘Abdullah wrote to him that Sabi‘ah (may Allah be pleased with her) informed him that she was married to Sa‘d bin Khawlah (may Allah be pleased with him), who was from the tribe of Banu ‘Amir bin Lu’ayy and had participated in the Battle of Badr. He passed away during the Farewell Pilgrimage while she was pregnant. Shortly after his death, she gave birth (i.e., delivered the child). When she became pure from her postpartum bleeding, she adorned herself for those proposing marriage. Abu al-Sanabil, who belonged to the tribe of Banu ‘Abd al-Dar, came to her and said,“What is the reason I see you adorned? Perhaps you intend to marry? By Allah, you cannot marry until four months and ten days have passed over you.”Sabi‘ah (may Allah be pleased with her) said,“When he said this to me, I wrapped myself in my cloak and went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the evening and asked him. He gave me the legal verdict that my waiting period had ended as soon as I gave birth, and if I wished, I was permitted to marry.”Ibn Shihab said,“I see no harm if a woman marries immediately after giving birth, even if she is still experiencing postpartum bleeding, but it is necessary that her husband does not have intercourse with her until she becomes pure.”

Narrated Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him): My maternal aunt was divorced and she wanted to pick dates from her garden. A man scolded her for going out. She went to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he said, "Why not? Go and pick the dates from your garden, for perhaps you may give some of it in charity (so that others may benefit), or do some other good deed (so that you may benefit)."

Lady Fatimah bint Qais (may Allah be pleased with her) says: I said, "O Messenger of Allah! My husband has given me three divorces and I fear hardship and ill-temper from him." So the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ordered that she should go to another house. (The narrator said that) she went to another place.

Abu Salamah bin Abdur Rahman bin Auf narrates that Fatimah bint Qais informed him that she was married to Abu Amr bin Hafs bin Mughira, and Abu Amr gave her the third of the three divorces. Then she thought that she had come to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and asked for a verdict about leaving that house, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered her to move to Abdullah bin Umm Maktum (may Allah be pleased with him). Marwan refused to confirm that a divorced woman can leave (her husband's) house. And Urwah said that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) also denied Fatimah's statement. (A divorced woman should not leave her husband's house.)

Narrated from Sayyida Fatimah bint Qais (may Allah be pleased with her) that her husband gave her three divorces, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) neither provided her a house nor maintenance. Sayyida Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "When your waiting period is over, inform me." So I informed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And Muawiyah, Abu Jahm, and Usamah bin Zaid (may Allah be pleased with them) sent proposals (for marriage). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Muawiyah is poor, he has no wealth, and Abu Jahm beats women a lot, but Usamah..." Then he gestured with his hand, saying, "Usamah, Usamah" (i.e., expressing her dislike), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "Obedience to Allah and His Messenger is better for you." So I married him, and women began to envy me (i.e., for the success of our marriage).

Humaid bin Nafi’ narrates from Zainab bint Abi Salamah that she informed him (Humaid) about these three hadiths. He says that Zainab said that when the father of Umm al-Mu’minin Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her), Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him), passed away, I went to her. Umm al-Mu’minin Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her) asked for perfume, which was yellow khuluq (a type of compound perfume), or it was some other perfume, and she applied it to a girl (with her own hands), then rubbed her hands on her cheeks and said,“By Allah, I had no need for perfume, but (this was only to teach ordinary women). I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying from the pulpit: ‘It is not permissible for one who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for a deceased person for more than three days, except for a woman whose husband has died; she should mourn for four months and ten days.’”

Zainab said: Then I went to Zainab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) when her brother died, and she also asked for perfume and applied it, then said,“By Allah, I had no need for perfume, but I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying from the pulpit: ‘It is not permissible for one who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for a deceased person for more than three days, except for a woman whose husband has died; she should mourn for four months and ten days.’”

Sayyidah Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I heard my mother, Umm al-Mu’minin Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), saying that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said,“O Messenger of Allah! My daughter’s husband has died and her eyes are hurting; can I apply kohl to her eyes?”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,“No.”The woman asked two or three times, and each time the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,“No.”Then he said,“Now the waiting period is only four months and ten days. In the time of ignorance, a woman would throw dung after completing a whole year.”(The narrator of the hadith) Humaid says: I asked Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her),“What does it mean that she would throw dung after a year?”Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her) said,“(In the time of ignorance) when a woman’s husband died, she would enter a nest (i.e., a small and ugly house), wear the worst of clothes, not apply perfume or anything else, until a year passed. Then an animal would be brought to her—a donkey, a goat, or a bird—with which she would break her waiting period (she would rub it on her skin or pass her hand over it). It was rare for that animal to survive (most often it would die, perhaps due to some satanic effect or because of the poisonous substance that developed on her body from living in a dirty nest). Then she would come out, and they would give her a dung pellet, which she would throw away, and then she would apply whatever perfume she wished.”

Narrated from Sayyida Umm Atiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No woman may mourn for any deceased person for more than three days, except for a wife, who should mourn for her husband for four months and ten days. And (during this period of waiting) she should not wear dyed clothes except for cloth of ‘Asb, nor apply kohl, nor touch perfume, except that when she becomes pure (from menstruation), she may use a little costus or azfar (a type of perfume).