The Law of Applying for Widows Who Are Still in the Iddah Period.

 A bride and groom are present at the Office of Religious Affairs to check files and data for their wedding.  This process must be passed to determine whether the wedding of the bride and groom can be carried out or not.

 Sheet after sheet of data has been checked and shown to be correct.  It's just that when the penghulu arrived at the divorce certificate sheet for the bride he was stopped because of the data written in it.  The data on the deed shows that the bride-to-be until the wedding day is still in the iddah period and will only be completed the following two weeks.

 "In fact, you shouldn't even propose to this woman because it's still in the iddah period, let alone marrying her.  The contract is invalid,” the penghulu told the groom.

 Yes, a woman who has broken up her marriage relationship because her husband has divorced her is not necessarily able to remarry another man.  In contrast to a man, a woman who is divorced from her husband has an iddah period where as long as the iddah period has not been completed she is not allowed to marry.  It is also not permissible for a man to express his desire to marry a woman who is still in the iddah period.

 Submission of this desire to marry in the language of fiqh is called khitbah or proposing.  Sheikh Muhammad Qasim Al-Ghazi in his book Fathul Qarîbil

 There are two ways to convey a proposal from a man to a woman he wants to marry, namely by tashrîh (with clear sentences) and ta'rîdl (with satire sentences).

 The proposal made tashrîh is a proposal using a sentence that definitely shows a strong desire to marry the woman who is being asked for.  While the proposal made in satire is a proposal with a sentence that does not definitely indicate a strong desire to get married.  This is how Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Baijuri in his Hâsyiyah defines it.

 For example, when a man feels happy with a woman and wants to marry her, then to the woman he says "I want to marry you" then this is a tashrîh proposal.  Meanwhile, if he conveys his proposal with such a sentence as "many men like you" then this is a ta'rdl proposal.

 Proposing a woman to marry, either explicitly or in private, tashrîh or ta'rîdl, there is nothing wrong with addressing a woman who is single and has no barriers to marriage.  However, if the proposal is addressed to a woman who is having obstacles to marry, such as a widow who is still in the iddah period, then there is a separate law detailed by the scholars.

 Meaning: "And it is not permissible to clearly propose a woman who is in the iddah period, but may propose to her in a satire and marry her after the completion of the iddah period."

 A woman who is still undergoing the iddah period, either because she has died or because her husband has divorced her, whether she has been divorced by raj'i divorce or divorced bain, then it is forbidden for a man to express his desire to marry her in a tashrh or clear manner.  This is not allowed because by showing his pleasure to the woman can make the woman lie about her iddah period.  For example, a woman should only end her iddah in two months, but because at this time there are men who want to marry her, she lies by speeding up her iddah period so that she can immediately marry the man so that she no longer has the status of a widow.

 The law of conveying the desire to marry a widow in satire or ta'rîdl by looking at the status of the woman.  If she is in the iddah period because of her husband's divorce from raj'i, then it is unlawful to convey it in satire, because essentially a woman who is in the iddah period because of the raj'i divorce is still holding the status of a wife from a husband whose mentality is up until his iddah period expires.  .

 Meanwhile, if he is in the iddah period because he has been left dead or something that means it to him, such as divorce from Bain and Faskh, then it is not forbidden to ask for her hand in satire, such as the phrase "later when your iddah period is over, let me know, okay."

 In the latter case, the proposal that is conveyed in satire is allowed because it contains the possibility that the man will marry her or not.

 Meaning: "A woman if she is free from the ties of marriage and the period of iddah, she may be asked for a proposal either explicitly or innuendo.  If she is still someone's wife, then it is forbidden for her to ask for a proposal, either clearly or innuendo.  Meanwhile, if he is in the period of iddah, then it is unlawful for him to propose a clear proposal  As for asking for a satire, if she is in the iddah period because of the raj'i divorce, it is forbidden to ask for her satire because she is still a wife.  Meanwhile, if he is in the iddah period because he has been left dead or what is meaningful to him, such as talak bain and Faskh, then it is not forbidden to ask for her hand in satire."

 In closing, one thing that must be considered, when conveying a satire desire to marry a woman who is still in the iddah period because talak raj'i is forbidden, how about conveying that desire clearly to a woman who is clearly still someone else's wife?  Wallahu a'lam.