The Controversy Over the Waiting Period of a Pregnant Widow

Abstract

This study explores a jurisprudence and legal issue related to the waiting period of a pregnant woman whose husband has been deceased, and the different opinions on this subject among scholars of Islamic law and law makers. The scholars of Islamic law have been divided into two groups: Each has their own determination concerning the end of a pregnant women after giving birth to her fetus. The study clarifies the strong opinion of Islamic law with proofs about the waiting period of a pregnant women whose husband passes away, as well as explaining the attitude of Iraqi law and its jurisprudence source, accordingly, giving a critical view and amendment of reviewing the legal context. The study applies a critical explanation thorough clarifying Sharia contexts and jurisprudence beliefs compared to the Iraqi law, thus, my research plan is as the following: In the first section the definition of waiting period, types of it, and the rulings has been determined, in the second part the waiting period of a pregnant women whose husband dies has been discussed. In conclusion the research discussed the closer belief of the scholars to Sharia law, but the weaker opinion has been selected by Iraqi law makers, including bad bad jurisprudence social effects against women and family rights.