Generally, the `iddah (waiting period) for the pregnant woman – whether a divorcee or a widow – ends with the delivery of her baby.
Sheikh Hamed Al-`Atar, an Islamic researcher, says: The waiting period of a widowed woman who is pregnant ends with the delivery of her baby, even if she gave birth a day after her husband’s death.
If a widowed pregnant woman has a miscarriage and the fetus is not yet eighty days, her waiting period is not over with this miscarriage [and therefore, her waiting period would be four months and ten days starting from the day her husband died].
If the miscarried fetus is more than eighty days, there are some considerations to be taken into account before deciding whether or not the woman’s waiting period would end with this miscarriage. However, it may be said that as long as the form of the miscarried fetus can be recognized, the waiting period of the mother would end with the miscarriage.
In his book Al-Mu`ghni, Ibn Qudamah, says:
The miscarriage by which the waiting period of a (widowed or divorced) woman ends is that in which the form of the fetus is obvious. To tackle this subject in detail, if a widowed or divorced woman who is pregnant miscarried, her miscarriage would be one of five kinds:
First, if the form of the miscarried fetus is obvious, that is, its organs are seen to be developed, there is no scholarly difference to say that the waiting period ends with this miscarriage. According to Ibn Al-Mundhir, it is unanimously agreed upon among the scholars from whom he acquired knowledge, including Al-Hassan Al-Basri, Ibn Sireen, Shurayh, Ash-Sha`bi, An-Nakh`i, Malik, Ash-Shafi`i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and Ishaq, that the waiting period of a pregnant woman is over if she miscarried a fetus with developed organs. Al-Athram, an eminent scholar, said that he asked Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal if the waiting period of a woman who miscarried in the fourth month of her pregnancy would be over with this miscarriage. He said: ‘There is no doubt that if a fetus is miscarried in its fourth month, the waiting period of its (widowed or divorced) mother would end with this. As long as the (widowed or divorced) woman miscarried a fetus whose form is evident, this falls under Almighty Allah’s words: “And for those with child, their period shall be till they bring forth their burden” (At-Talaq 65: 4).
Second, if the woman miscarried an embryo in its early stages, that is, a zygote or some blood and it is not possible to tell if it might have been an embryo or not, this has nothing to do with determining the woman’s waiting period.
Third, if the woman miscarried something like a lump of flesh that some trustworthy midwives can recognize as an embryo that has a faintly human form, it is to be dealt with like the first case. That is to say, it is a miscarriage by which the waiting period of the woman ends.
Fourth, if the woman miscarried something like a lump of flesh, and some trusted midwives recognized it as an embryo in its early stage, it is not to be regarded as a miscarriage by which a waiting period ends. However, some scholarly opinions, including Al-Hassan al-Basri’s and the widely-known view of the Shafi`i school, say that this kind of miscarriage can end the waiting period because the testimony of the midwives that it is an embryo in its early stage is like their testimony that it has a form of a human.
Fifth, if the woman miscarried something like a lump of flesh but the midwives did not recognize it as an embryo in its early stage, this does not end the waiting period. The waiting period of a pregnant woman does not end with the miscarriage of something that is pre-embryonic, whether it is said to be a zygote or a clot, and so on (the earliest stages of pregnancy). Imam Ahmad said: ‘If it (the thing discharged from the woman’s uterus) was a clot, it is no more than a thick mass of blood, and thus, it does not end the waiting period.’ I [Ibn Qudamah] know no scholar who opposes this opinion except Al-Hassan who sees that since it is known that the woman is pregnant, the thing she discharges is thought to be a miscarriage and is a sign that her waiting period is over. But the first opinion is held by the majority of scholars and is more correct.
To sum up, the miscarriage by which the waiting period of a pregnant woman is over is that which takes place eighty days after conception. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘The creation of one of you starts in his mother’s womb as a (small) seed for forty days, then as a clot for a like period, then as a lump of flesh [that is called then a fetus] (also) for a like period as so.” There is no controversy regarding the end of the waiting period with the miscarriage of a fetus four months after conception, since it is a perfect human being.
In his The Juristic Medical Encyclopedia, Dr Ahmad Muhammad Kan`an, the Head of the Infectious Diseases Department affiliated to the Primary Medical Care Administration in the Eastern Region in Saudi Arabia, states:
The waiting period of a (divorced or widowed) pregnant woman ends with the delivery of her baby as Almighty Allah says: “And for those with child, their period shall be till they bring forth their burden” (At-Talaq 65: 4).
Concerning miscarriage, jurists stipulate that in order for it to determine the end of the waiting period of a woman the fetus should appear in the shape of a human, even if it is unclear. This should be indicated in the testimony of doctors or midwives. If a woman’s husband died or she is divorced then she discovered that she is pregnant, the calculation of her waiting period is to change from counting four months and ten days in the first case, and three menstrual cycles in the second, to waiting
until she gives birth. If she is pregnant with twins, the waiting period is not to end until the last baby is delivered.