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In Islam, iddah or iddat (Arabic: ?????‎; period of waiting) is the period a woman must observe after the death of her spouse or after a divorce, during which she may not marry another man.[1] The period, three months after a divorce and four months and ten days after the death of a spouse, is calculated on the number of menses that a woman has. Iddah was intended to ensure that the male parent of any offspring produced after the cessation of a nikah would be known.
Qur'an prohibits widows to engage themselves for four lunar months and ten days after the death of their husbands.[2] Islamic scholars consider this directive to be a balance between mourning of husband's death and protecting the widow from criticism that she might be subjected to from re-marrying too quickly after her husband’s death.[3] This is also to ascertain whether a woman is pregnant or not, since four and a half months is half the length of a normal pregnancy.[4]
Husbands should make a will in favor of their wives for the provision of one year’s residence and maintenance, unless the wives themselves leave the house or take any other similar step.[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iddah