Investigating Divorcee’s Menopausal Iddah in Imamia Fqih and the Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The fourth verse of Sūrat aṭ-Talāq is about the divorcee’s iddah. Based on this verse, eminent Imamia jurists have inferred the number of iddah months for women with an uncertain menopause status and maintain that for women with a certain menopause status, albeit sexually penetrated, iddah does not need to be observed. This is while Sayyed Morteza Alamolhoda (RIP) argues that the iddah of divorce must be observed for post-menopausal women who have experienced sexual penetration, whether they are in the age of menstruation or not. Following eminent Imamia jurists’ opinion, the Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran also states that for women with a certain menopause status, albeit sexually penetrated, iddah does not need to be observed. In this regard, opening the topic of ijtihad in Imamia Fqih provides a valuable opportunity for re-investigating[PB1]  this issue. Having examined both parties’ arguments as well as other verses of the Glorious Koran[PB2]  on divorce iddah in the light of the causes and contexts of their revelation, the present study found that the opinion of minority is ascertained and based on substantial jurisprudential fundamentals and it can be used as an acceptable well-documented basis for amending the provisions of the Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran in this regard.