Faria bint Malik bin Sinan, the sister of Abu Saeed Khudri, reported that she came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ asking permission to return to her family among Banu Khudrah. Her husband had gone out in pursuit of some slaves of his who had run away, and when he caught up with them at the edge of al-Qadum, they killed him.She said, "I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ if I might return to my family, since my husband had left me no dwelling that he owned and no maintenance."She continued, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'Yes.'"She said, "So I left, but when I was in the chamber, or in the mosque, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ called out to me, or ordered that I be summoned, and he asked, 'What did you say?'"She said, "I repeated to him the account I had given him about my husband's situation."He said, "Stay in your house until the prescribed term is completed."She said, "So I observed the waiting period there for four months and ten days."She said, "When Uthman became caliph, he sent for me and questioned me about this matter, and I informed him. He followed it and ruled accordingly."
أن الفريعة بنت مالك بن سنان، وهي أخت أبي سعيد الخدري، أخبرتها، أنها جاءت رسول الله ﷺ تسأله أن ترجع إلى أهلها في بني خدرة، وأن زوجها خرج في طلب أعبد له أبقوا، حتى إذا كان بطرف القدوم لحقهم فقتلوه. قالت: فسألت رسول الله ﷺ أن أرجع إلى أهلي، فإن زوجي لم يترك لي مسكنا يملكه، ولا نفقة. قالت: فقال رسول الله ﷺ: نعم قالت: فانصرفت، حتى إذا كنت في الحجرة أو في المسجد ناداني رسول الله ﷺ، أو أمر بي فنوديت له، فقال: كيف قلت؟ قالت: فرددت عليه القصة التي ذكرت له من شأن زوجي. قال: امكثي في بيتك حتى يبلغ الكتاب أجله قالت: فاعتددت فيه أربعة أشهر وعشرا. قالت: فلما كان عثمان، أرسل إلي فسألني عن ذلك فأخبرته، فاتبعه وقضى به.
Malik related it in the chapter on Divorce (96), from Saad bin Ishaq bin Kaab bin Ujra, from his paternal aunt Zaynab bint Kaab bin Ujra, who informed him that Furayah bint Malik told her that she came to the Prophet ﷺ and mentioned the matter to him.Through Malik's route, it was also related by Abu Dawud (2300), Tirmidhi (1204), Ibn Majah (2031), and Nasai (3528), and Ibn Hibban (4292) and Hakim (2/208) graded it sahih, except that Nasai related it through other routes from Zaynab bint Kaab.Abu Dawud Tayalisi related it (1769) from Shuba, from Saad bin Ishaq, from Zaynab, from Furayah, the sister of Abu Saeed, that her husband went after some runaway servants and they killed him, while she was living in a village among the villages of Madinah. She came to the Prophet ﷺ and mentioned this to him, and asked his permission to go to her sisters and observe her waiting period with them, and she mentioned the rest of the hadith in a similar way.Ibn Hibban related it (4293) through another route from Shuba, and its chain is sahih.Zaynab bint Kaab bin Ujra al-Ansariyyah was mentioned by Ibn Hibban in Thiqat, and Ibn Athir and Ibn Fathun mentioned her among the companions.Tirmidhi said, following his transmission of Zaynab's hadith, "This is a hasan sahih hadith, and the practice among most of the scholars from the companions of the Prophet ﷺ and others is that they did not hold it permissible for a woman observing her waiting period to move from her husband's house until her waiting period is over. This is the view of Sufyan Thawri, Shafii, Ahmad, and Ishaq. Some scholars among the companions of the Prophet ﷺ and others said, 'A woman may observe her waiting period wherever she wishes, even if she does not observe it in her husband's house.' But the first opinion is more correct." End of quote.The four imams held the first opinion. Ibn Abdul-Barr said, "This is the view of the jurists of the various regions, in Hijaz, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt." They also said, if news of the husband's death reaches her while she is away from her house, she should still return to observe her waiting period in her own house.The second opinion was related from Ali, Ibn Abbas, Jabir, and Ayesha among the companions, and likewise a group of the successors held it. Their argument was the saying of Allah Most High, "Those who die among you and leave wives behind, a bequest for their wives, provision for a year without turning them out. But if they leave, there is no blame upon you for what they do concerning themselves in an acceptable way. And Allah is Mighty, Wise." [Baqarah 2:240]For in pre-Islamic times, a woman would remain for a year in the house of her deceased husband, being supported from his inheritance, and when the year was over she would go out to her family. Then Islam came and confirmed them in this practice of remaining a year, on the basis of this verse. Then this was abrogated by the verse that precedes it in the arrangement of the Quran, which is the saying of Allah Most High, "And those who die among you and leave wives behind, they shall wait concerning themselves for four months and ten days. Then when they reach the end of that period, there is no blame upon you for what they do concerning themselves in an acceptable way. And Allah is Aware of what you do." [Baqarah 2:234] So the waiting period was set at four months and ten days, and the command to bequeath her a year's provision was abrogated by what was decreed for her share of inheritance, while the matter of leaving her husband's house without being forced out remained as it was.Ibn Abbas said, "This verse (meaning verse 234) abrogated her observing her waiting period with her family, so she may observe it wherever she wishes, and that is the meaning of Allah's saying "without turning them out" [Baqarah 2:240] (meaning verse 240), and the completion of the verse, "But if they leave, there is no blame" [Baqarah 2:240]." This statement of Ibn Abbas was mentioned by Bukhari in his tafsir of the verse.The conclusion, then, is that a woman observes her waiting period in her husband's house, and it is not permissible for her family to remove her from it. But if she leaves out of need or necessity, such as fearing for herself, or if the house is rented, or for other pressing reasons, then she may leave and move from her husband's house, based on Allah's saying, "But if they leave, there is no blame upon you for what they do concerning themselves in an acceptable way." In such a case, it is not permissible for her family to prevent her.