The Ruling on the Waiting Period of a Woman Whose Uterus Has Been Removed

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, does a woman whose uterus has been removed have to observe a waiting period for widowhood or divorce, given that the doctors are certain she cannot become pregnant?

Answer:
Yes, the waiting period is not solely for the sake of pregnancy. The waiting period is a limited period of observation prescribed by the Shari'ah for separation through divorce or death, and its purpose is not merely to ensure the absence of pregnancy. Therefore, it is obligatory for an old woman, even if she is a hundred years old, to observe the waiting period if her husband dies, even though it is certain that she is not pregnant. If he divorces her and she is a hundred years old, she must observe the waiting period. So the intended purpose of the waiting period is not merely to know that the womb is free of pregnancy; that is one of the objectives, but not all of them. Yes.