Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamoalikum,
My question to you is that can a woman in iddat attend the wedding ceremony of her daughter in a gathering where there is complet

e segregation between males and females or can she attend the ceremony sitting in a seperate room where namahrams would be strictly prohibited to enter

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Answer:

Can Widow attend wedding ceremony while in iddah

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

If the woman is performing the ‘iddah’ of divorce, there is absolutely no harm in her attending her daughter’s wedding; but if the woman is fulfilling the ‘iddah’ or waiting period of mourning her husband’s death she is required by Shariah to abstain from leaving her house without absolute genuine need, neither is she allowed to wear new clothes, ornaments, or apply perfume, henna, etc.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 4.23

Umm 'Atiyyah narrates that the Messenger of Allah said: "A woman should not mourn for any deceased person for more than three days, except in the case of her husband's death, which she may mourn for a period of four months and ten days. Such a woman (in mourning) is not to wear any (brightly) colored dress. She may wear only plain dress. During this period she should not use any adornment or eye makeup, nor wear any perfume, nor dye her hands and feet with henna, nor comb her hair, except at the end of her menstruation period, when she may use some cleaning or refreshing agents (such as perfume, etc. ) to get rid of any offensive smell left over from her period." Accordingly, when a widow mourns, she must not use any adornment, such as jewelry, kohl, silk, perfume, or henna dye on her hands and feet. A widow must observe this waiting period in deference to her late husband's memory and to fulfill her obligations toward him.

Reported by Muslim and Bukhari.

Your Question: My question to you is that can a woman in iddat attend the wedding ceremony of her daughter in a gathering where there is complete segregation between males and females or can she attend the ceremony sitting in a seperate room where namahrams would be strictly prohibited to enter? 

The scholars are of the opinion that if the marriage is in the house, there is no harm if the woman fulfilling the prescribed ‘iddah’ of her husband’s death attends the wedding ceremony, provided she does not wear new clothes, nor adorns herself with beauty or ornaments, nor applies perfume or henna, nor participates in the joyous celebrations that accompany a wedding. There is no harm if she wishes to attend the wedding ceremony in the house, but she should fulfill the requirements of mourning as prescribed by Shariah.

But if the marriage ceremony is in a marriage hall or a hotel, it would be purer and better for the woman in ‘iddah’ to abstain from leaving her house and attending such a ceremony.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan