What a recently-widowed woman is not allowed to do
Question My husband has died. What should I do? What are the things that I am not allowed to do? Answer Praise be to Allaah. It is narrated in the hadeeth that a recently widowed woman is not allowed to do five things, and that she is required to do five things. 1 – She should stay in her house where she was living when her husband died; this is the place where she should stay until the end of her ‘iddah, which lasts for four months and ten days, unless she is pregnant, in which case her ‘iddah ends when she gives birth, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And for those who are pregnant (whether they are divorced or their husbands are dead), their ‘Iddah (prescribed period) is until they lay down their burden” [al-Talaaq 65:4] She should not leave the house except in case of need or necessity, such as going to the hospital if she is sick or to buy things she needs from the marketplace such as food etc., if she does not have someone with her who can do t...