The Right of a Widow in Islam

Every individual wants happiness as the verse of the Qur'an about making people happy, one of happiness that can be achieved is by getting married, but building a harmonious family is not easy, because there will be various problems in the household. And if the problem cannot be resolved, divorce is the only solution to the last. With the divorce occurring, there will be a waiting period for the wife called the iddah period, where in this period of time, the wife is obliged to get her rights like the rights of a widow in Islam.


Fiqh madzhab (Hanafi, Maliki, Syafi'i and Hambali) agree that the wife divorced in the form of raj'i divorce, has the right to obtain the rights of a widow in Islam and the place of residence during the period of Islamic law in accordance with the conditions of divorce in Islam. Based on the statement above, the study of the rights of widows in unmarried widow Islam becomes interesting and very important, this is due to the difference between Islamic law. In this case, it will be discussed in full in the view of Islam, A Widow's Rights in Islam.

The right of a widow in Islam or the virtue of supporting a widow is to fulfill the food needs, a place to live, the obvious right of a widow in Islam is a gift from a husband who is obliged to his wife, because of a legitimate marriage bond. The amount of the rights of a widow in Islam is based on the husband's economic condition and cannot be forced according to the wife's wishes.

According to fiqh madzhab (Hanafi, Maliki, Syafi'i and Hambali) agree that the rights of a widow in Islam are more emphasized on food (food), clothing (clothing), shelter (board) in order to achieve tips on living happily in Islam. But in the legislation in Indonesia the essence of a widow's rights in Islam is closely related to money issues, social status, ways of life and changes in situations and conditions. So that the rights of a widow in Islam can develop in everything that is related to a rational need for life

The right of a widow in Islam and the obligation of a wife in the iddah period become elastic and flexible depending on the conditions surrounding it in the form of social reality and the development of individual life needs and the real conditions of the life of a married couple. So the rights of a widow in Islam can also be in the form of household costs, costs of care, and treatment for the wife.

The right of a widow in Islam during the Iddah period

 The right of a widow in Islam iddah is the giving of a husband to his wife, in the form of shopping for the necessities of his life, during the period of the iddah due to the divorce which was dropped on him. According to the schools of fiqh (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hambali), the right of a widow in Islam iddah is the giving of a husband in the form of a widow's rights in Islam and a place of residence that his wife receives when undergoing the iddah period. So it is understandable that the wife has the right to get the rights of a widow in Islam and her place of residence, from her husband during the Islamic period, especially in the talak of raj'i.

 The right of a widow in Islam iddah in the form of a widow's rights in Islam and maskan (place of residence), Hanafi, Maliki and Hambali argue that the rights of a widow in Islam that are given by husbands to wives have no limits, according to syara law ', but are more measured by circumstances husband and wife.

Whereas Shafi'i determines the right of a widow in Islam 1 day per day for the poor, one half mud for the person who is and for the rich 2 mud, of course the right of a widow in Islam iddah is the same as the right of a widow in Islamic wife before divorce, under the pretext, a wife who is accused and can be referred by her husband still occupies a position as a wife, where the husband is obliged to give the rights of a widow in Islam and a place to live.

Opinion of the School of Fiqh Regarding the rights of a widow in Islam

The opinions of the Islamic jurisprudence regarding the right of a widow in Islam and the place of residence in the period of iddah, in the form of talak raj'i or talak bain, have similarities and differences including:


Hanafi School of Religion
Madhab Hanafi states, the obligation of a widow in Islam to a wife divorced by raj'i divorce or ba'in, he still has the right to the rights of a widow in Islam and the place of residence of her husband during the wife, not leaving the place provided by her husband and as a result of his restraint during this period for the rights of the husband, this applies to wives who are pregnant or not.


Maliki School of Religion
Madikab Maliki stated that the wife divorced in the form of raj'i divorce had the right to obtain the rights of a widow in Islam and residence. Furthermore, Imam Malik said that the right of residence applies to the form of divorce with talak raj'i or ba'in during the period of iddah, based on the word of Allah in the letter At Talak verse 6 which is "place them (the wives) where you live". But for the rights of a widow in Islam the wife does not get it at all.

Shafi'i School of Religion
The Syafi'i School of Religion discussed the rights of a widow in Islam and the place of residence for wives who undergo the iddah period, that the right of residence applies to the public, namely all forms of divorce. The right of a widow in Islam according to Imam Syafi'i only applies to wives who are divorced in the form of divorce that is possible for the existence of consent between husband and wife namely talak raj'i,

while in the case of the rights of a widow in Islam for wives who are not pregnant and are not married, they have no right to get food and clothing from their husbands, this is based on the word of Allah SWT, "if they (wife who has been accused) are pregnant, then give to them the right of a widow in Islam until they give birth ". Understanding this verse shows the non-obligation of giving the right of a widow in Islam to a wife who is not pregnant.

Imam Ahmad
Imam Ahmad stated that the right of a widow in Islam and a special place of residence for a wife divorced from raj'i divorce. So that the wife divorced from Talak Ba'in did not get the right of a widow in Islam or residence.

Obtained Rights Category

All scholars of the school agreed that the wife divorced in the form of raj'i divorce, had the right to obtain the rights of a widow in Islam and the place of residence of her husband during the period of iddah. Whereas talak ba'in ulama differ in opinion which can be categorized into three categories, namely:

Not entitled to the rights of a widow in Islam, but obtaining residence rights is the opinion of the Maliki and Shafi'i schools.
Entitled to the rights of a widow in Islam and place of residence is the opinion of the Hanafi School of Religion.
Not obliged to give the rights of a widow in Islam and the place of residence is the opinion of the Hambali school.
The rights of a widow in Islam Iddah According to Islamic Law

Compilation of Islamic law also regulates the granting of the right of a widow in Islamic ex-husband, to his ex-wife because of divorce, namely in article 149 paragraph (a) and (b):

When the marriage breaks because of divorce, then the ex-husband is obliged to:

Giving decent assets to his ex-wife, whether in the form of money or objects, except for the ex-wife qobla al dukhul;
Giving the right of a widow in Islam, asking and kiswah to ex-wives while in iddah, unless the ex-wife has been sentenced to talak ba'in or nusyuz and is not pregnant.
The granting of the rights of a widow in Islam iddah is also stated in article 152 which reads, the ex-wife has the right to get the right of a widow in Islamic law from her ex-husband, unless he is nuyuz. In addition to getting the rights of a widow in Islam iddah, the wife who is in the past also gets property, property is the gift of a former husband to a wife who is subject to divorce in the form of objects or money and others. This is based on KHI 158:


Assets must be given by the husband with the following conditions:

No dowry has been set for the wife of ba'da al dukhul;
Divorce is the will of the husband.
Compilation of Islamic Law also regulates the amount of property set in article 160 which reads: "The amount of property is adjusted to the propriety and ability of the husband". Based on the information above, it is clear that the wife has the right to obtain the rights of a widow in Islam while undergoing the period of the period and also the property or gifts, on the part of the husband who divorced her. Indeed women still have to get protection and kindness regardless of their status.

Thus the author can convey, That is the right of a widow in Islam in accordance with the source of Islamic Shari'a, hopefully it is useful as an Islamic insight and can be a guide to be applied in daily life. See you in the next article, thank you.