Was Iddah observed for the captives of Banu Mustaliq?

Question

It was forbidden to have sex with them until they were distributed and their iddah period was over that's a long time. But this hadith clearly show they decided to have intercourse with them without waiting iddah period.

Abu Sa'id, did you hear Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) mentioning al-'azl? He said: Yes, and added: We went out with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) on the expedition to the Bi'l-Mustaliq and took captive some excellent Arab women; and we desired them, for we were suffering from the absence of our wives, (but at the same time) we also desired ransom for them. So we decided to have sexual intercourse with them but by observing 'azl (Withdrawing the male sexual organ before emission of semen to avoid-conception). But we said: We are doing an act whereas Allah's Messenger is amongst us; why not ask him? So we asked Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), and he said: It does not matter if you do not do it, for every soul that is to be born up to the Day of Resurrection will be born. -- Sahih Muslim 1438

Answer 1

1. There is no "iddah" for war captives / slaves. Rather there is istibra'. The waiting period for them is:

   • One menstrual cycle, for the non-pregnant.

   • Childbirth, for anyone who is pregnant.

     عن أبي سعيد الخدري، ورفعه، أنه قال في سبايا أوطاس ‏ لا توطأ حامل حتى تضع ولا غير ذات حمل حتى تحيض حيضة

     Abu Sa’id Al Khudri traced to Prophet (ﷺ) regarding the captives taken at Atwas:

     There must be no intercourse with pregnant woman till she gives birth to her child or with the one who is not pregnant till she has had one menstrual period.

     ^{— Abu Dawud}

     The purpose of the waiting period is to ensure that the woman's womb is empty. And this is achieved when she has a menstrual discharge or gives birth.

2. The hadith you have quoted is not fabricated. Rather it is authentic on the criterion of Bukhari and Muslim since it has been recorded by them in their "Saheeh" where they aim to only compile authentic reports.

3. You claim:

   this hadith clearly show they decided to have 
   intercourse with them without waiting iddah period
   

   Actually it does not. This is not explicitly stated anywhere in the text of the hadith. The default assumption would be that the sahaba fulfilled all the requirements and the incident from "So we decided to have sexual intercourse with them ..." occurred after the waiting period had passed.

   The narrator did not mention such trivial details as the topic of his conversation was the legality of Azl (coitus interruptus) and not the conditions for legality of sexual intercourse with slaves.