Does a woman divorced during terminal illness have a waiting period if she was pregnant?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Waiting Periods ('Iddah)
Primary text
If the husband who pronounced the divorce during his illness dies while the woman is pregnant, the ruling is that she observes the longer of the two prescribed periods (the waiting period for widowhood or the divorce period). However, this view is rejected. The correct ruling is that the waiting period ends upon the delivery of the child, regardless of whether the woman was free or a slave, based on the consensus of scholars across all eras. This is based on the verse: "And for those who are pregnant, their appointed term is until they deliver their burden." (Quran 65:4), which applies to both triple divorce and divorce due to widowhood. The delivery of the child is the definitive proof of freedom from pregnancy, thus ending the waiting period, as there is consensus that the waiting period for a pregnant divorced woman ends upon childbirth.
Supporting text
The view that she must observe the longer of the two periods is attributed to Al-Qadi, but it is deemed incorrect because childbirth terminates all waiting periods. A minority view attributed to Ibn Abbas and a weak narration from Ali suggested observing the maximum of the two periods, but Ibn Abbas reportedly retracted this upon learning of the Hadith of Subay'ah. Al-Hasan and Al-Sha'bi disliked that a woman should remarry while still in post-natal bleeding. Hammad and Ishaq were cited as holding that her waiting period does not end until she purifies herself from the *nifas* (post-natal bleeding), which is opposed by the majority.