The Inheritance of the Divorcee

Question :

Does the divorced woman, whose (former) husband has died suddenly, inherit anything if it is during her prescribed period of waiting ('Iddah), or after the expiry of that period?

Answer:

If a divorced woman's husband dies suddenly, she is either in the waiting period of a divorce which is not final (Ar- Raj'ah), or one which is final. If the divorce is of the former type, then she falls under the ruling of a wife and she transfers from the waiting period of divorce to the waiting period of death. And Raja'i divorce is when the wife was divorced after the marriage was consummated, without recompense, and the divorce was the first or second one. So if her husband died, she inherits him, according to the Words of Allah, Most High:
"And divorced women shall wait (as regards their marriage) for three menstrual periods, and it is not lawful for them to conceal what Allah has created in their wombs, if they believe in Allah and the Last Day. And their husbands have the better right to take them back in that period, if they wish for reconciliation. And they (women) have rights (over their husbands as regards living expenses, etc.) similar (to those of their husbands) over them (as regards obedience and respect, etc.) to what is reasonable"

And the Words of Him, Most High:
"O Prophet! When you divorce women, divorce them at their 'Iddah (prescribed periods) and count (accurately) their 'Iddah (periods). And fear Allah your Lord (O Muslims). And turn them not out of their (husband's) homes nor shall they (themselves) leave, except in case they are guilty of some open illegal sexual intercourse. And those are the set limits of Allah. And whosoever transgresses the set limits of Allah, then indeed he has wronged himself. You (the one who divorces his wife) know not it may be that Allah will afterward bring some new thing to pass (i.e. to return her back to you if that was the first or second divorce)."

So Allah, Most Glorious is He and Most High, ordered the divorced woman to remain at the home of her husband during the waiting period, and He said:
"You (the one who divorces his wife) know not it may be that Allah will afterward bring some new thing to pass"

By which is meant Ar-Raj'ah.
However, if the divorcee whose husband has died suddenly is irrevocably divorced, as in the case of a woman who is divorced for the third time, or she has given her husband a recompense so that he will divorce her, or if she was in the waiting period of annulment, not divorce, then she does not inherit from him, nor does she transfer from the waiting period of divorce to the waiting period of death.

However, there are situations in which the irrevocably divorced woman inherits from her husband; such as when her husband divorces her during his terminal illness, in order to prevent her from inheriting. In this situation, she will inherit from him, even if her period of waiting has expired, so long as she has not remarried, and if she has remarried, there is no inheritance for her.

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