<![CDATA[Within the Islamic family law, the iddah period aims to maintain lineage certainty, protect women's honour, and provide a transition period after a marriage ends. However, the Compilation of Islamic Law prescribes a fixed one-year iddah period for pre-menopausal women – a provision that has prompted debate regarding its potential social and gender justice implications. This condition raises questions about its relevance, rationale, and conformity with the principle of benefit (maslahah). This research aims to analyse the nature of the iddah period for divorced women, examine the determination of the one-year iddah period for pre-menopausal women, and formulate an ideal iddah duration from an Islamic family law perspective. Adopting a doctrinal legal methodology, this research employed statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches, supported by literature studies on classical fiqh, maqashid al-syariah theory, and contemporary Islamic law developments. The results indicate that the primary essence of iddah for divorced women is oriented toward protecting lineage and benefit based on concrete biological indicators. Furthermore, the determination of a one-year iddah period for pre-menopausal women becomes an institutional ijtihad construction that is not entirely aligned with classical fiqh patterns or comparative practices, thus raising issues of proportionality and justice. Consequently, the ideal iddah period for pre-menopausal women should be based on medically verifiable physiological conditions. This adjustment would ensure better alignment with the principles of benefit and the protection of women's rights (maslahah) in modern legal practice.]]>
