Prohibited activities during Iddah

After Talaq or divorce, a woman is obliged to stay in her husband’s house. Allah (SWT) says, 'O Prophet, when you divorce women, divorce them for their (prescribed) period (Tuhr) and count the period, and fear Allah, your Lord. Do not turn them out of their (husbands') houses, nor should they leave (themselves) unless they commit a clear immorality.’ (Sura Talaq: 01). If the Iddah is after Raj’i Talaq, husband and wife can stay in the same room. This gives the couple the last opportunity to resolve their issues and achieve reconciliation before ending the period of Iddah. 
If the Iddah is after third Talaq or a divorce initiated via Khula, they must sleep in entirely separate rooms. Although the husband holds the full financial responsibility to provide the lady, as his ex-wife, with food, lodging and maintenance according to his financial capacity, they are required to observe full hijab and strictly avoid being along together. Because the marital bond is completely dissolved. But other men cannot formally marry her during the Iddah.
On the other hand, if the Iddah is after the husband's death and the wife is a non-pregnant widow, this Iddah (period) lasts exactly four lunar months and ten days, whereas the Iddah for a pregnant widow concludes strictly upon giving birth. Zainab (Ra) narrated that I wanted Zainab bint Jahsh when her brother died. She asked for perfume and used some of it and said, "By Allah, I am not in need of perfume, but I have heard Allah's Messenger (SAW) saying on the pulpit, 'It is not lawful for a lady who believes in Allah and the last day to mourn for more than three days except for her husband, for whom she should mourn for four months and ten days' (Sahih Bukhari: 5335).

During this timeframe, the wife is required to sleep and reside in the marital home where she lived at the time of her husband's passing. She is forbidden from moving her primary residence away from the home she was living in when her husband passed away. If she is bound for leaving the house during the day for essential survival needs (such as medical checkups, groceries, or to work her job if she is the primary breadwinner), she must return home before nightfall. Fuairiyah Bint Malik, the sister of Abu Sayeed Khudri (Ra), said, 'After my husband’s death in Qudum, I went to the Prophet (SAW) and told him that our house was remote.' He permitted and then called her back and said, "Stay in your house for four months and ten days, until the term prescribed is fulfilled." (Sunan Nasayee: 3532).
She must practise mourning (Ihdad) by abstaining from cosmetics, perfumes, jewellery and flashy clothing, and she cannot contract a new marriage or receive formal marriage proposals during this period. Umm Atiyah (Ra) narrated that the messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “It is not lawful for a lady who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for more than three days for a dead person, except for her husband, in which case she should neither put kohl in her eyes nor perfume herself nor wear dyed clothes, except a garment of ‘Asb” (Sahih Bukhari: 5342).  There is no Islamic requirement or prohibition stating that a widow must wear a white dress during her Iddah. A widow can wear white, black, blue, green, brown or any other colour. The actual prohibition is against wearing attractive, flashy, or brightly coloured garments designed for adornment. She should wear standard, humble, everyday clothing that does not draw attention or express a desire to attract suitors. She must refrain from using any form of cosmetic makeup, including foundation, lipstick, or blush. Applying body perfumes and kohl to the eyes for beautification is also forbidden. She cannot wear any gold, silver, diamonds, gemstones, or fashion jewellery.
If the Talaq occurs before the couple has engaged in physical intercourse and before they have spent any private time alone together, she is completely exempt from observing any Iddah, and the woman is legally free to remarry immediately. Allah (SWT) says in the Quran, 'O believers! when you marry believing women and divorce them before they touch them, they will have no Iddah (waiting period) to count against them...’ (Sura Ahzab: 49).
It can also be mentioned that if a husband pronounces Talaq to his wife after the marriage contract but before any physical intimacy or private seclusion (Khalwah), he is legally required to pay half of the specified Mahr. Allah (SWT) says: And if you divorce them before you have touched them and you have already specified for them an obligation, then (give) half of what you specified--unless they forego the right or the one in whose hand is the marriage contract foregoes it.’ (Sura Baqarah: 237).

The writer is Khatib of Baitush Shafiq Mosque and principal of Baitul Hikmah Academy, Gazipur