Waiting period.
Useful information: When a woman is divorced or her husband dies, she must wait for a prescribed period of time before she can remarry.
If the woman's husband has died, the waiting period differs according to whether or not she is pregnant; if she is not, she must wait four months and ten days. Such things as her physical maturity, whether or not she has reached menopause, and whether or not the marriage has been consummated are irrelevant. If the woman is pregnant, according to the Sunnis her waiting period terminates when she gives birth to the child; according to the Shi'is, she must wait either four months and ten days or the term of her pregnancy, whichever is longer. If a woman's husband should be away on a journey when she hears of his death, according to the Sunni schools her waiting period begins on the date of his death; the Shi'is hold that it begins on the day she receives the news.