Menses, Postpartum Bleeding, Extra-Menses Bleeding

Fātimah bint Hubaysh asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) saying: I have a ceaseless flow of vaginal bleeding that continues even outside the menstrual period. Does this have the same ruling of menstruation so I should abstain from prayer? The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) replied saying: It is Istihādah (vaginal bleeding outside the menstrual period), which is a kind of illness caused by the rupture of a vein in the uterus and it is not menstrual blood. Therefore, when the time you used to experience your normal menses, before getting sick with Istihādah, do not pray, fast, or perform any act of worship that the menstruating woman must not perform during her menses. After this period is over, you attain purity from menstruation. So, wash the place from where the blood flows and wash your whole body to remove the state of Hadath (ritual impurity), and then pray.

1. It is obligatory for a woman to take a ritual bath when her menstruation is over.
2. It is obligatory for a woman suffering from Istihādah to perform prayer.
3. Hayd (menstruation): It refers to the normal blood that is discharged by the uterus through the vagina of an adult woman during known days.
4. Istihādah: It refers to the flow of blood from the nearest part of the uterus, not its bottom, outside its normal time.
5. The difference between the blood of Hayd and that of Istihādah is that the former is black, thick, and smelly whereas the latter is red, thin, and not smelly.

صحيح البخاري (1/ 72) (325). صحيح مسلم (1/ 262) (333). تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام، للبسام (ص77). الإلمام بشرح عمدة الأحكام، لإسماعيل الأنصاري (1/ 63). خلاصة الكلام شرح عمدة الأحكام، لفيصل آل مبارك (ص40).

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Umm Habībah to take a ritual bath when she asked him about what she had to do concerning her non-menstrual vaginal bleeding. She, thus, used to do so for every prayer. She remained in this state for seven years. This non-menstrual vaginal bleeding, however, is uncommon among women. The regular blood women discharge is that of menstruation in a number of days monthly. It has signs that women can recognize.

تأسيس الأحكام للنجمي، ط2، دار علماء السلف، 1414هـ. تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام للبسام، حققه وعلق عليه وخرج أحاديثه وصنع فهارسه: محمد صبحي بن حسن حلاق، ط10، مكتبة الصحابة، الإمارات - مكتبة التابعين، القاهرة، 1426هـ. تنبيه الأفهام شرح عمدة لأحكام لابن عثيمين، ط1، مكتبة الصحابة، الإمارات، 1426هـ. عمدة الأحكام من كلام خير الأنام صلى الله عليه وسلم لعبد الغني المقدسي، دراسة وتحقيق: محمود الأرناؤوط، مراجعة وتقديم: عبد القادر الأرناؤوط، ط2، دار الثقافة العربية، دمشق ، بيروت، مؤسسة قرطبة، 1408هـ. صحيح البخاري، تحقيق: محمد زهير بن ناصر الناصر، ط1، دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم، تحقيق: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار إحياء التراث العربي، بيروت، 1423هـ.

Mu‘ādhah al-‘Adawiyyah asked the Mother of the believers, ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her): Why does the menstruating woman make up for her missed fasts but does not make up for the missed prayers? She answered her: Are you from the Harūriyyah Kharijites, those who ask excessive questions out of obstinacy and extremism? I said: I am not a Harūriyyah woman, but I am just asking. She said: We used to menstruate during the time of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), and we were commanded to make up for the missed fasts, but not the missed prayers.

1. Denouncing everyone who asks questions out of obstinacy and argumentation.
2. Al-Harūriyyah is attributed to a town near Kufa called Harūrā’—a sect of the Kharijites. The comparison to them is due to their extremism in religious matters, their excessive questioning, and their obstinate adherence to it.
3. The teacher's clarification for those who seek knowledge and guidance.
4. Responding with the exact text (of the Qur’an or Hadīth) is preferable, because ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) did not address the specific meaning the questioner asked about; this is because replying with the original text leaves no room for objection.
5. Submission to the ruling of Allah and His Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), even if the servant does not understand the wisdom behind it.
6. An-Nawawi said: The meaning of ‘Ā’ishah's statement is that a group of the Kharijites were making it obligatory for menstruating women to make up for the prayers missed during their menstrual period, which contradicts the consensus of Muslims. This questioning that ‘Ā’ishah engaged in was a questioning of disapproval, meaning: This is the way of the Harūriyyah, and what a bad way it is!

صحيح البخاري (1/ 71) (321). صحيح مسلم (1/ 265) (335). الإلمام بشرح عمدة الأحكام، لإسماعيل الأنصاري (1/ 68). تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام، لعبد الله البسام (ص81).

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) mentioned that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to recline in her lap and recite the Qur'an while she was having her menses. This indicates that the body of the menstruating woman is pure, and does not become impure because of menstruation.

تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام، عبد الله بن عبد الرحمن البسام، تحقيق: محمد صبحي حلاق، مكتبة الصحابة، الإمارات، مكتبة التابعين، القاهرة، الطبعة: العاشرة 1426هـ. تنبيه الأفهام شرح عمدة الأحكام، محمد بن صالح العثيمين، مكتبة الصحابة، الإمارات، الطبعة: الأولى 1426هـ. عمدة الأحكام من كلام خير الأنام صلى الله عليه وسلم لعبد الغني المقدسي، دراسة وتحقيق: محمود الأرناؤوط، مراجعة وتقديم: عبد القادر الأرناؤوط، دار الثقافة العربية، دمشق، بيروت، مؤسسة قرطبة، الطبعة: الثانية 1408هـ. صحيح البخاري، محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري الجعفي، تحقيق: محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، الطبعة: الأولى 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم، مسلم بن الحجاج القشيري النيسابوري، تحقيق محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار إحياء التراث العربي، بيروت، الطبعة: 1423هـ.

Asmā' (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about menstrual blood soiling a woman's dress, and he explained how to remove it. He said that a woman should first scrape the affected area to remove the substance of blood. Then she should rub it with her fingertips to wash out the soaked blood. After that, she should wash it to remove the remaining traces of blood. This order should be observed, for this is the best way for removing a dry impurity. After doing this, a woman may pray in such garment. Trying to remove it the opposite way would spread the impurity.

صحيح البخاري، تأليف: محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري، تحقيق: محمد زهير الناصر، الناشر: دار طوق النجاة الطبعة: الأولى، 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم، تأليف: مسلم بن الحجاج النيسابوري، المحقق: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي - الناشر: دار إحياء التراث العربي – بيروت. توضيح الأحكام مِن بلوغ المرام، تأليف: عبد الله بن عبد الرحمن بن صالح البسام، الناشر: مكتبة الأسدي، مكة المكرّمة الطبعة: الخامِسَة، 1423 هـ - 2003 م. نيل الأوطار, محمد بن علي الشوكاني اليمني, تحقيق: عصام الدين الصبابطي, دار الحديث، مصر, الطبعة: الأولى، 1413هـ - 1993م. سبل السلام شرح بلوغ المرام، تأليف : محمد بن إسماعيل بن صلاح الصنعاني، الناشر: دار الحديث الطبعة: بدون طبعة وبدون تاريخ. تسهيل الإلمام بفقه الأحاديث من بلوغ المرام، تأليف: صالح بن فوزان بن عبد الله الفوزان، الطبعة: الأولى، 1427 ه _ 2006 م فتح ذي الجلال والإكرام شرح بلوغ المرام لمحمد بن صالح بن محمد العثيمين، تحقيق: صبحي بن محمد رمضان، وأُم إسراء بنت عرفة، ط1، المكتبة الإسلامية، مصر، 1427ه. منحة العلام في شرح بلوغ المرام، تأليف: عبد الله بن صالح الفوزان، الناشر: دار ابن الجوزي الطبعة: الأولى، 1427 ه - 1431 هـ.

Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) corrected a Fatwa given by the noble Companion Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) where he commanded women to make up for the prayers abandoned during their menses. She said: "They should not do so," citing as evidence for her opinion that "the Prophet's wives would refrain (from prayer) for forty days during postpartum bleeding, and the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) would not command them to complete the prayers abandoned during that period." There is something confusing here, as Mussah asked Umm Salamah about the ruling on prayer in terms of menses, informing that Samurah commanded women to make up for them, but Umm Salamah gave her reply involving the prayer during the postpartum period. To clear this confusion, we say: First: Menstrual period in the question was meant to refer to the postpartum period, as indicated by the reply. Second: Umm Salamah gave her reply concerning prayer during the postpartum period, which is shorter in duration than the menstrual period, for the menses occur 12 times every year, unlike the postpartum period. So, she clarified that the Almighty Lawgiver pardoned women in terms of the prayer abandoned during the postpartum period which rarely recurs; so what about the menses which come frequently; and Allah knows best.

إرواء الغليل في تخريج أحاديث منار السبيل للألباني، إشراف: زهير الشاويش، ط2، المكتب الإسلامي - بيروت، 1405هـ. توضيح الأحكام للشيخ البسام، ط5، مكتبة الأسدي، مكة المكرمة، 1423هـ. تسهيل الإلمام للشيخ صالح الفوزان، بعناية: عبدالسلام السليمان، ط1، 1427هـ. منحة العلَّام للشيخ عبد الله بن صالح الفوزان، ط1، دار ابن الجوزي، الدمام، 1427هـ. سنن أبي داود، تحقيق: محمد محيي الدين عبد الحميد، المكتبة العصرية، بيروت. فتاوى اللجنة الدائمة، المجموعة الأولى: اللجنة الدائمة للبحوث العلمية والإفتاء، جمع وترتيب: أحمد بن عبد الرزاق الدويش.

In this Hadīth, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarifies the expiation due on someone who engages in sexual intercourse with his wife while she is menstruating. The expiation is to pay a dinar or half a dinar in charity. We learn from the Hadīth that having sexual intercourse with a woman during her menstruation is prohibited, because it results in expiation. The Hadīth also serves as evidence of the obligation of giving in charity, because it is done as a compensation for a sin.

توضيح الأحكام للشيخ البسام، ط5، مكتبة الأسدي، مكة المكرمة، 1423هـ. سُبل السلام، للصنعاني، دار الحديث. تسهيل الإلمام للشيخ صالح الفوزان، بعناية: عبدالسلام السليمان، ط1، 1427هـ. فتح ذي الجلال والإكرام بشرح بلوغ المرام: الشيخ ابن عثيمين، تحقيق صبحي رمضان وآخر، ط1، المكتبة الإسلامية، مصر، 1427هـ. سنن أبي داود، لسليمان بن الأشعث السِّجِسْتاني تحقيق: محمد محيي الدين عبد الحميد: المكتبة العصرية، صيدا - بيروت. سنن ابن ماجه: ابن ماجه أبو عبد الله محمد بن يزيد القزويني، تحقيق: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي. دار إحياء الكتب العربية - فيصل عيسى البابي الحلبي. مسند الإمام أحمد بن حنبل المحقق: شعيب الأرنؤوط - عادل مرشد، وآخرون إشراف: د عبد الله بن عبد المحسن التركي مؤسسة الرسالة الطبعة: الأولى، 1421 هـ - 2001 م. السنن الكبرى للنسائي، حققه وخرج أحاديثه: حسن عبد المنعم شلبي، أشرف عليه: شعيب الأرناءوط مؤسسة الرسالة – بيروت الطبعة: الأولى، 1421 هـ - 2001 م. سنن الدارمي، للدارمي، التميمي تحقيق: حسين سليم أسد الداراني، دار المغني للنشر والتوزيع، المملكة العربية السعودية الطبعة: الأولى، 1412 هـ - 2000 م. فتاوى اللجنة الدائمة، المجموعة الأولى، المؤلف: اللجنة الدائمة للبحوث العلمية والإفتاء، جمع وترتيب: أحمد بن عبد الرزاق الدويش.

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: "Among the Jews, whenever a woman had her menstruation, they would not eat with her": the Jews used to refrain from eating with their menstruating wives and from drinking after them from the same cup. They would not eat from the food they cooked because they considered them and their sweat to be impure during menstruation. "Nor associate with her in their houses": they would not mix or live with a menstruating woman; rather, they would make her leave the house as mentioned in the report of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that was narrated by Abu Dawūd. Upon knowing that the Jews abandoned their wives during their menstruation, the Companions asked the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessing be upon him) about that. Thereupon, Allah, the Almighty, revealed the verse: {And they ask you about menstruation. Say, "It is harm, so keep away from wives during menstruation.} [Sūrat al-Baqarah: 222] The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do everything except intercourse." Hence, it is permissible according to the Shariah to mix with the menstruating wife, eat with her, drink with her, touch her, and lie down with her and everything else apart from having vaginal intercourse with her. His statement "Do everything except intercourse" is a clarification of the generality in the verse, because 'keeping away' includes sexual relations, mixing, eating, drinking, and accompanying. However, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that the intended meaning here is to avoid sexual intercourse and nothing else. When the Jews heard of that, they said: "This man does not want to leave anything we do without opposing us in it," i.e. the Jews learned that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) allowed his Companions to do everything with their wives during their menses except sexual intercourse. So they said that if he saw them doing something, he would order his followers to do the opposite and guide them to do the contrary since he was very eager to contradict them in everything. "Usayd ibn Hudayr and ‘Abbād ibn Bishr came and said: O Messenger of Allah, the Jews say such-and-such, should we not have intercourse with them (our wives)?": Usayd ibn Hudayr and ‘Abbād ibn Bishr (may Allah be pleased with both of them) reported to the Prophet what the Jews said after they had heard that the Prophet opposed them, then they both asked the Prophet about the permissibility of having sexual intercourse with their wives during the menstruation period in order to oppose the Jews in every aspect. "The face of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) underwent such a change": the Prophet did not approve of their Ijtihād (independent reasoning) in this issue; rather, he became angry and the signs of his anger were seen on his face, because their opinion opposed the Shariah as Allah, the Almighty, said: {Keep away from wives during menstruation} [Sūrat al-Baqarah: 222] and the Prophet had already clarified the meaning of 'keep away' in this verse, meaning that they were not entitled to have sexual intercourse with them. "that we thought he was angry with them": we thought he was angry with them because of what they said. "So they went out. They were met by a gift of milk which was being brought to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and he sent after them and made them drink thereof": the two men left, but as they were leaving, someone who had a gift of milk for the Prophet met them on the way, and when he entered upon the Prophet, the Prophet sent someone after the two men to ask them to come back. When they came back, he gave them some milk to drink out of kindness and to show them that he was not angry with them. "whereby they knew that he was not angry with them": he was not angry because they were excused for their good intention behind what they said: or because his anger with them did not last long which reflects his noble morals and his kindness with his Companions.

صحيح مسلم، تأليف: مسلم بن الحجاج النيسابوري، تحقيق: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي الناشر: دار إحياء التراث العربي – بيروت. تسهيل الإلمام بفقه الأحاديث من بلوغ المرام، تأليف: صالح بن فوزان بن عبد الله الفوزان، الطبعة: الأولى، 1427 هـ _ 2006 م. توضيح الأحكام مِن بلوغ المرام، تأليف: عبد الله بن عبد الرحمن بن صالح البسام، الناشر: مكتبة الأسدي، مكة المكرّمة الطبعة: الخامِسَة، 1423 هـ - 2003 م. فتح ذي الجلال والإكرام، شرح بلوغ المرام، تأليف: محمد بن صالح بن محمد العثيمين، الناشر: المكتبة الإسلامية، تحقيق: صبحي بن محمد رمضان، وأُم إسراء بنت عرفة. المنهاج شرح صحيح مسلم، تأليف: محيي الدين يحيى بن شرف النووي، الناشر: دار إحياء التراث العربي، الطبعة: الثانية 1392هـ. مرقاة المفاتيح شرح مشكاة المصابيح، تأليف: علي بن سلطان القاري، الناشر: دار الفكر، الطبعة: الأولى، 1422هـ. عون المعبود شرح سنن أبي داود، تأليف: محمد شمس الحق العظيم آبادي، الناشر: دار الكتب العلمية، الطبعة: الثانية، 1415هـ. شرح سنن أبي داود، تأليف: عبد المحسن بن حمد بن عبد المحسن العباد، نسخة الإلكترونية.