What is the waiting period of a pregnant woman?
Short answer
The waiting period of a pregnant woman ends with giving birth, whether she is divorced or her husband has died.
Evidence and explanation
The Shaykh cited the saying of Allah, the Most High: “And for those who are pregnant, their term is until they give birth” and the hadith of Subay'ah al-Aslamiyyah.
Scholar referenced
This editorial summary is based on the original source linked below and is not presented as a verbatim quotation from the scholar.
From the text of the answer (Arabic, with an English translation)
Original answer — Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz
عدة الحامل عمومًا وضع الحمل — فتوى ١٩٤٤١- Question
«قال تعالى: وَأُوْلَاتُ الْأَحْمَالِ أَجَلُهُنَّ أَن يَضَعْنَ حَمْلَهُنَّ ، هل هي خاصة بالمتوفى عنها زوجها، وعن المطلقة إذا وضعت حملها، هل عليها عدة أم انتهت، وعن المتوفى عنها زوجها وهي حامل هل لها مصرف حتى تضع الحمل، أم ليس لها إلا ما خصها من الإرث؟»
English translation (unreviewed): The Most High said: “And for those who are pregnant, their term is until they give birth” [al-Talaq: 4]. Is this specific to the woman whose husband has died, and what about the divorced woman, if she gives birth, does she have a waiting period or has it ended; and the woman whose husband has died while she is pregnant, does she have maintenance until she gives birth, or does she have only what is allotted to her of the inheritance?
- From the text of the answer
«إن الآية عامة، تعم المتوفى عنها، والمطلقة، والمخلوعة، والمفسوخة من جهة الحاكم بمسوغ شرعي، كل واحدة منهن إذا كانت حاملًا تخرج من العدة بوضع الحمل؛ للآية المذكورة، وهي قوله سبحانه: وَأُوْلَاتُ الْأَحْمَالِ أَجَلُهُنَّ أَن يَضَعْنَ حَمْلَهُنَّ [الطلاق:٤].»
English translation (unreviewed): The verse is general; it includes the widow, the divorced woman, the woman who obtained khul', and the woman whose marriage was annulled by the judge for a legitimate reason: each of them, if pregnant, leaves her waiting period by giving birth, because of the aforementioned verse, which is His saying, Glorified: “And for those who are pregnant, their term is until they give birth” [al-Talaq: 4].
- Evidence as the shaykh cited it
«ولما ثبت في الصحيحين أن سبيعة الأسلمية رضي الله عنها وضعت حملها بعد وفاة زوجها بليال، فاستفتت النبي ﷺ في ذلك فأفتاها بأنها قد خرجت من العدة من حين وضعت حملها، وأذن لها في الزواج متى بدا لها ذلك.»
English translation (unreviewed): And because it is established in the two Sahihs that Subay'ah al-Aslamiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, gave birth some nights after her husband's death, so she asked the Prophet ﷺ for a ruling on that, and he gave her the ruling that she had left her waiting period from the time she gave birth, and he permitted her to marry whenever she wished.
The Arabic excerpts matched the original page word for word by an automated check and have not had human scholarly review. The English translations are unreviewed translations made for this site; they are not an approved Shari‘ah translation. Rely on the Arabic original.
Source
The waiting period of a pregnant woman is, in general, giving birth
Title of the original page (Arabic): عدة الحامل عمومًا وضع الحمل
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him