Waiting Period (Idda) Articles 50 -53

This chapter deals with the waiting period (Idda), or the period between divorce or death of the husband and the date that the wife may remarry.
Article 50 fixes the period of waiting four months, beginning on the day of divorce or separation, or death of the husband. The waiting period for a pregnant woman ends with the birth or an abortion. This article contrasts completely with Shari'a and Ottoman Law. The difference in Shari'a lies in the fixing of the period and the not distinguishing between Idda of a divorcee and a widow and also in ignoring her age or physical state in determining her waiting period (see Articles 139-141, 143-144, and 147 in Ottoman Law).
On the other hand, Ismaili Idda laws parallel the Druze law and fix a period of four months as the waiting period of a divorced woman.

Article 51 states that if the couple have not been together or had contact, then Idda does not apply. (see Article 146 of Ottoman Law).

Article 52 rules that the Idda begins on the day of the divorce or invalidation of the marriage, or death of the husband, even if the wife did not know of his death. Under this article, the waiting period for divorce or separation is dependent on the wife's being aware of the circumstances. This contrasts with Ottoman Law (Article 145), which does not take into account the wife's awareness of the divorce or separation.

Article 53 obligates the husband to pay alimony to his divorced wife during the waiting period, but does not require payment to the wife if the husband dies, whether she is pregnant or not. In contrast to Ottoman law (Article 150-153), this article does not refer to a woman divorced for being rebellious (Nushuz), or one who has ended her waiting period before the parties agreed on maintenance, or before a court judgment. In contrast to Articles 50-52, this article does not differentiate among divorce, separation, or annulment. It is possible that if the wife is the claimant for divorce, then the husband is not liable to pay maintenance during the Idda period.

Intorduction Chapter 1 - Eligibility to Enter into Marriage (Articles 1 - 5) Chapter 2 - Forbidden Marriages (article 9 - 13) Chapter 3 - Arranging the Marriage (Articles 14 -19) Chapter 4 - Marriages Rules (Articles 20 -23) Chapter 5 - Dower ("Mahr") (Articles 24 - 27) Chapter 6 - Maintenance (Nafaqa) (Articles 28-36) Chapter 7 - Separation (Article 37-49) Chapter 8 - Waiting Period (Idda) (Articles 50-53) Chapter 9 - The custody of the children (Articles 54-66) Chapter 10 - Child allowance (Articles 67-74) Chapter 11- Payments by sons to parents and other relatives (Articles 75-80) Chapter 12 - Guardianship over minors (Articles 81-87) Chapter 13- Guardianship and wills (Article 88-98) Chapter 14- Responsibilities of the guardian [executor] (Articles 99-118) Chapter 15- Circumstances under with a Qadi may disqualify a person and appoint a guardian (Articles 119 -125) Chapter 16 - A Missing Person and his Trustee (article 126 -136) Chapter 17 - Paternity (nasab) (Articles 137-144) Chapter 18 - Wills and Inheritance (2) (Articles 145 -170) End Notes