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Fatwa CenterWidow loses right to deceased husband's pension if she remarries
Question
Assalam o alaikum dear scholars. If a widow marries to a person and gets separation before commencement (humbistry) however she lived few days with his husband. In this case she will be still widow or not. Can she get benefit from his deceased husband's organization by declaring herself as a widow. Jazakallah
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His Slave and Messenger.
Linguistically speaking, the Arabic term for widow, Armalah, is used to refer to an unmarried woman as well as a widow. Al-Mubaarakfoori 
wrote,
“The term 'Armalah' is used to refer to an unmarried woman, whether she was previously married or not. It is also used to refer to the widowed woman whose husband passed away. Ibn Qutaybah highlighted that the term is used in reference to the widow because of the state of 'Irmaal' that befalls her, that is, poverty and loss of sustenance from losing her husband.” [Tuhfat Al-Ahwathi] In this sense, any unmarried woman can be referred to as 'Armalah.'
As for the financial benefits paid to this widow by the deceased husband's organization as stated in the question, you should have clarified the nature of this organization and the circumstances by which the widow is entitled to these benefits so that we could accurately determine the relevant judgment. Since we do not know the nature of this organization and these circumstances, we will highlight the rulings in the possible scenarios in this regard:
First, the ruling on the benefits depends on their nature. If these benefits were deducted from the deceased husband’s salary, then they are considered a debt and part of his own property. In this case, they should be included in the estate and distributed among the heirs. But if the benefits are offered by the deceased husband’s organization as a grant for his dependents after his death, they must be spent in the particular channel specified by the organization according to the stipulated terms set by the organization. If the organization stipulates that these benefits are to be paid to the widow of the employee, then this woman is no longer considered his widow because she has married another man.
It should be noted that seclusion is sufficient in the attainment of the marriage consummation even if no sexual intercourse took place. It has the same legal consequence as consummation of marriage. Please refer to Fatwa 246769.
Allaah Knows best.
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