Why Quran sets waiting period for woman scientific explanation

Pregnancy is a time of both joy and fear. While we reveal the miracle of life showcased in all its glory, it's also incredibly complex and not without risk. Today, we're going to take a closer look at the reasoning and scientific facts behind why the Holy Quran has specific stated periods of waiting for women to not begin a new sexual relationship after separation, divorce, or the death of their husband, and it has a lot to do with pregnancy.

First, a few scientific facts about the female reproductive system:

Spotting and perimenopause. Spotting is the term used when a woman experiences vaginal bleeding, usually associated with her monthly period or menstrual cycle. Normally, spotting occurs at the beginning and end of the menstrual cycle and, in most cases, is a sign that the woman is experiencing a normal cycle and is not pregnant. However, approximately twenty to thirty percent of the time, spotting is actually caused by pregnancy in the first trimester.

Another scientific fact concerns women as they age and approach menopause. When this happens, a woman stops ovulating, after which becoming pregnant is no longer possible. However, there is a state called perimenopause where women can experience a lessening in frequency of their menstrual cycle but can still become pregnant.

Now that we've taken a look at some scientific facts about a woman's menstrual cycle, spotting, and perimenopause, let's take a closer look at what the Holy Quran states.

For women who have separated from their husbands or have recently divorced their husband, the Holy Quran states in Surah Baqarah 2:228 that 

And divorced women should keep themselves in waiting for three menstrual periods.

For women who approach menopause, the Holy Quran states in CH4:V65 that 

AND THOSE OF YOUR WOMEN WHO DESPAIR OF MENSTRUATION, IF YOU HAVE A DOUBT, THEIR PRESCRIBED TIME IS THREE MONTHS

The reason behind this is simple: even though a woman might believe that she is not pregnant because she's had spotting or is perimenopausal, she indeed could be pregnant. So, in order to make sure that she isn't pregnant and that the next man does not inherit the responsibility of raising a child that is not his own, and also so that there is no confusion in matters of paternity and lineage, the Holy Quran tells women to wait for three full months before starting a new relationship with another man.

Now, let's keep in mind that pregnancy tests have only been around since around 1930. Before that time, both women and doctors relied on a woman missing her menstrual cycle to determine if she was indeed pregnant.

Prior to how many fathers around the world have mistakenly believed they fathered a child that was not actually theirs, or unknowingly raised a child that was not their own child, even today, there is also a state called late recognition of pregnancy or Cryptic pregnancy.

Where women can experience negative urine blood and ultrasound tests in the first few months of their pregnancy, all the while actually being pregnant. Many of these women's instincts tell them that they are pregnant, but the pregnancy tests disagree.

Late recognition of pregnancy and Cryptic pregnancy are more common than you may think. As bizarre as it sounds, cryptic pregnancy or denied pregnancy, if you're in the U.S., is a very real phenomenon.

Some women do become pregnant and are generally unaware that they're expecting until several months into their pregnancies. According to Jenkins et al., in the 2011 Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, a German study suggested that the incidence of late recognition of pregnancy was one in 475.

This is higher than that of Rhesus hemolytic disease, one in a thousand, or uterine rupture, one in 1500. This incidence is corroborated by an Austrian study indicating a rate of 1 in 400 pregnancies and an American study suggesting a frequency of 1 in 516 births.

In the case of a woman who has lost her husband due to his death, the length of the waiting period set by the Quran is even a bit longer, and this is for a scientific reason as well.

First, the Quran states in surah Baqarah 2:234 that 

those of you who die and leave wives behind them shall wait for four months and ten days. 

It turns out there's a very good reason for the precise time period given. It's not a random number by any means.

Amazingly, even though the Holy Quran was written 1400 years ago, the time of 4 months and 10 days, almost 130 days, is exactly when all the physiological transitions required for a successful pregnancy occur, including the HCG hormone, a very important hormone for pregnancy, reaching peak levels and then declining and leveling off for the remainder of the pregnancy.

And when the placenta becomes the primary source of estrogen and progesterone for the developing baby. As stated by Wang and Zhao in their book Vascular biology of the placenta, and Lowdermilk et al., in their book Maternity and women's health care, the 11th edition.

Furthermore, researched by Steer et al., in 2006, in the book Heart disease and pregnancy, reveals the second wave of trophoblastic invasion ...or gestational sac invasion happens during an average 133 days of pregnancy. This trophoblast invasion extends more deeply to involve the myometrial part, the muscular part of the uterine spiral arteries.

So essentially, after this time, four months and ten days, the chance of a pregnant woman having a normal miscarriage is very low, and by the same token, it's also much more complicated for a pregnant woman to have an abortion after this time. And if she were able to, undeniable physiological evidence of the abortion would be left behind.

Also, before four months and ten days, it's much easier to cause an abortion by various means such as rough sex, strenuous physical exercise, or pills. Then there is the issue of pregnancy abuse, which rises sharply after a woman becomes pregnant. This abuse causes 80,000 maternal deaths each year due to criminal abortions, killing 80,000 plus fetuses every year as well.

If the woman or her family is greedy, they may try to cause an accidental miscarriage because they don't want the added responsibility of another child or because they want to protect the inheritance from the future heir. So, in order to protect the pregnant woman, the unborn baby, and the man she may decide to have a relationship with, the Quran sets out this precisely prescribed waiting period.

It is for these scientific reasons that the Holy Quran has prescribed such specific terms for women to wait after they've become separated from their husbands, divorced from them, or have lost their husband due to death. If a woman waits for these time periods, there will be almost no chance that a man will be forced to raise a child that is not his own but that he thinks is his own, or that the paternity of the child will be mistaken.

Unfortunately, in many non-Muslim countries, many problems arise from the fact that women don't wait the prescribed period. News reports from these countries are full of these stories, including men raising children they believe were fathered by one man when, in fact, it was another. And even a case where twins were born with the same mother but different fathers.

If the word of the Holy Quran was followed, these problems could be avoided completely. As you can see by looking at this from a purely scientific standpoint, the words of the Holy Quran contain much wisdom and would be of great benefit to everyone involved if followed.