Her husband told her that she should not take off her gold bangles as long as she lived, and he died before her. Should she carry out his wishes?
Question There is a woman who is seventy-six years old. She wears gold bangles on her wrists that were given to her by her husband, who told her that she should never take them off as long as she lives, and that if she died these bangles would be cut off. Now he has died,…
Question
Now he has died, so what should she do? As is well known, the woman whose husband dies should not wear gold or perfume, etc for four months. So what should she do?.
Praise be to Allah.
In the answer to questions no.
10670 and
13966 we explained that the
woman whose husband dies has to avoid certain things: going out of the house
during the day except when there is a need, and at night unless it is
absolutely necessary; wearing beautiful clothes; adorning herself with
jewellery and other things; and wearing perfume except when she becomes pure
from menses or postpartum bleeding (nifaas), in which case she may use only
a little.
The woman who is observing ‘iddah following the death of her
husband has to avoid the things mentioned above for the length of the ‘iddah
period, which is four months and ten days according to the lunar calendar.
This is the ‘iddah for all women except one who is pregnant – in that case,
the ‘iddah ends when the pregnancy ends.
A husband’s request to his wife never to take off jewellery
is not a wasiyyah (will or final request) that has to be followed, because
it is a request concerning something over which the husband has no
authority. Whether to take off the jewellery or not is up to the wife and no
one has the right to force her to do any such thing.
Moreover, following sharee‘ah is more important and takes
precedence. Sharee‘ah forbids a woman who is observing ‘iddah following the
death of her husband to wear jewellery.
It was narrated from ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)
that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “There is
no obedience (to anyone) if it involves disobedience (to Allah); obedience
is only with regard to that which is right and proper.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (7257) and Muslim (1840).
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him)
was asked:
With regard to a will or final request that is contrary to
sharee‘ah: should it be carried out? How should the one to whom these
instructions were given deal with this will?
He replied:
Instructions that are contrary to sharee‘ah do not count. If
final instructions are contrary to sharee‘ah, they should not be carried
out. Only those instructions that are in accordance with sharee‘ah may be
carried out. End quote.
Fataawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb, tape
no. 420
Based on that, this woman has to take off those bangles
during the ‘iddah period, then after that if she wishes she may wear them,
and if she wishes she may refrain from wearing them.
And Allah knows best.
