Women's Issues

Q: Should a widow's iddat period be calculated by the Islamic months or the western calendar months (ie. August, September, etc.)?

Q: Regarding menstruation periods I would like to ask the following questions:

1.Are women allowed to have a bath whilst in haidh and nifaas? (I know that this will not make them pure from najasat but are they allowed to bathe because of hot weather and hygienic reasons?)

2. Are women allowed to do istinja using water whilst in period? (Women in our area refrain from using water saying this causes illnesses and is against the laws of haidh and nifaas; is this true?)

3. Are women allowed to drink cold water and ice-creams and other cold products during haidh and nifaas? (Again women in our area refrain strictly from this saying that it is not allowed both for medical and Islamic reasons?)

4. In our area women that are in haidh or nifaas still read salaah (in pretence-meaning that they don't recite anything but pretend that they are reading) in the presence of their fathers and other males using the excuse that they shouldn't know that their daughters, mothers or sisters are in this state. Is this allowed or not?

Q: My question is I am 23 years old girl. I had regular bleeding of 4 to 6 days since the last 9 years. But from the last 3 months the bleeding lasts only for 3 days or some less (68 to 70 hours). I want to know that is this haidh or something else? Should I continue salaah during this period or not?

Q: Is it Fardh to wear parda?

Q: Is is necessary for women to cover their neck, hair and arms as these parts of the body attract men?

Q: My mum is 65 years old, very sick at home. My dad just passed away. Must my mum wear parda in her house if people come to visit?

Q: If a woman's husband has pasted away, is her father-in-law her mahram? The wife stays with her in-laws mother/father in-law, brother in-law/wife. Can she make her iddat in her current home, or should she stay with her mother and do her iddat. (The distance between her home and her mothers is 300km) or should her mother stay with her at her in-laws?

Q: Can a woman who is doing hifz, recite only the memorised portion of her hifz during her periods, so as to not forget it?

Q: What will be the "iddat" of a woman if her husband passes away and she has a 6 day old baby? It is in my knowledge that if the woman is pregnant then till delivery she is in iddat and in normal cases it would be 4 months and 10 days. But my question is this that just 6 days before the death of the husband she delivered. So is there no iddah and she will be "paak or tahira" in 40 days. Or she will complete 4 months?

Q: I live in China and I have to work here till February next year insha Allah. My wife is pregnant and its becoming difficult for her to manage here alone and she wants to go back to India for the delivery of the child, the reason being her loneliness and bepardagi (Hijaab) because of male doctors. Its expensive for me to go with her and then come back and join my job here in China. Is there any relaxation in sending her alone through some direct airline? I would take her to the airport in Burqah and she will be picked up by her relatives there in India. Can my wife travel alone?