Aqeel Mahmood – S02 EP06 – Fiqh – Rulings of Menstruation
AI: Summary ©
The menstrual cycle is a complex process that involves the women's health, women's behavior, and sexual behavior. It is measured by days or weeks, and the woman is considered to be on the menstrual cycle when she reaches puberty. The importance of praying during the cycle is discussed, as it is crucial for women's health to not be in a fracy state. Prayer during the cycle is also crucial for preventing bleeding and preventing accidents. The length of the cycle is not specified, but it is possible to make up missed fasts and attend theimp speaking.
AI: Summary ©
Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim, alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen,
wassalatu wassalamu ala ashraf al-anbiya wal mursaleen
nabiyyina muhammadin wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma
'in.
Insha'Allah we're going to be covering the
chapter of menstruation today, and also we're going
to be looking at issues related to menstruation,
such as istihadah, and also postpartum issues related
to the woman, and what's permitted and what's
not permitted for her in that state also,
because they're all connected.
And the chapter of menstruation is considered amongst
the scholars to be one of the most
difficult chapters in fiqh.
It's one of the hardest chapters in fiqh.
They say that Imam Ahmed, when he would
study and when he would seek knowledge, he
would study topics, and he also studied the
chapter of menstruation, and he studied this chapter
for nine years.
Nine years.
So other chapters he may have studied for
a period of time, and this chapter he
studied for nine years.
So it gives you an idea of the
depth, the detail, the complexity of this specific
chapter, and this is for a number of
reasons.
This chapter is considered a difficult chapter for
a number of reasons.
What are some of those reasons?
The first reason is that this issue is
an issue which is only relevant to men.
Or is it to women?
To women.
It's an issue which is only relevant to
women.
So half of the ummah can't, in a
way, relate to this issue.
It's only something which is affecting half of
the ummah.
It's something specific to women, which makes it
difficult for a man to be able to
understand in its entirety in depth.
And the second reason is because most of
the scholars who speak about this issue since
the time of the Prophet ﷺ have been
males as opposed to females.
And as we just said, this affects only
women.
So for men to speak on this issue,
even though obviously we don't suffer from menstruation,
we don't deal with the cycle on a
monthly basis, naturally it's going to be more
difficult.
Also, thirdly, because women themselves sometimes are unable
to distinguish between the blood of the menstrual
cycle, the blood of istihadah, how to distinguish
between the two.
And so if they're having difficulty and trouble
distinguishing between the two, then of course naturally
it will be difficult for those who are
trying to give the verdicts and the rulings,
especially if they're male.
And also, lastly, with regards to haidh, there
isn't a set length of time where a
woman is going to have her menstrual cycle
full.
And there's no specific time with regards to
how long she's going to be pure for
until the next cycle, meaning it's not the
same for every single woman on the planet.
In fact, it's almost the opposite.
Every single woman will have her own circumstances,
the length of her cycle, how long she's
on her cycle for, how long she's not
on her cycle for, the period of time
in between, the way she recognizes when she's
on her cycle and when she's not on
her cycle, etc.
So also because of this, it makes things
even more complex and even more difficult.
And generally speaking, as scholars say, because you
could say this issue is something which women
have to deal with on a case-by
-case basis, depending on the woman, then if
they're unsure or if there's doubt about what
they should do or what they shouldn't do
based on their cycle, if they're on their
cycle or if they're not on their cycle,
they should follow the opinion of the local
madhhab or they should follow their local imam
in this issue, just so that they have
answers to these types of questions, which of
course are very important considering that they're related
to Salah and other acts of worship.
And Hayyad, the menstrual cycle, menstruation, is something
which has been prescribed for women from Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And it's something which Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala has ordained and decreed for the women
of the world, for human beings, the females
of human beings.
And the Prophet, salallahu wasalam, when he was
performing hajj with Aisha radiallahu anha, she was
crying due to her being on the menses,
because it can have pain related to somebody
being on their monthly cycle.
And the Prophet, salallahu wasalam, reminded her that
this is something which was ordained for the
daughters of Adam, alayhis salam, something which was
ordained for the daughters of Adam, alayhis salam.
And there is no evidence to suggest that
the story of Hayyad, or the menstrual cycle,
was something which was decreed on women as
a punishment.
Some religions will say that this is a
punishment for Hawwa, disobeying Allah, and tempting Adam,
alayhis salam, by tempting him to eat from
the tree in Jannah, and disobeying Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
There is no evidence for this.
This isn't something which is from Islam.
This is something which is from other religions.
In fact, in the Quran, if you look
at the story of Adam, alayhis salam, and
Hawwa, alayhis salam, ayat that speak about what
happened mention, فَأَكَلَىٰ مِنْهَا That both of them
ate from the tree.
It doesn't mention one of them.
It doesn't say فَأَكَلَتْ That she ate.
It doesn't say he ate.
Exclusively.
It says both of them ate from the
tree.
Meaning both of them are accountable for what
they did.
They're both accountable for their actions.
They both ate from the tree, and they're
both going to be accountable.
So this ayah, or these ayat which refer
to this insinuate, both of them were responsible.
Both of them were the ones who ate
from the tree.
One wasn't tempted by the other.
And they were both accountable for what they
did.
And, again, this shows us that there is
no evidence to suggest that Hawwa was given
this punishment, and then it was given to
those that she bore from the children, from
the females of her children, as a result
of what she did.
There's no basis or evidence for this.
So, what is hayat?
How do we define what hayat specifically is?
Hayat is, of course, specifically related to women.
And it's a monthly discharge of blood that
is from the lining, or monthly discharge of
blood that lines the private part of the
woman.
And this is part of the menstrual cycle.
And, essentially, it's something which shows that the
woman is healthy, and her reproductive system is
sound, and that she's able to have children.
So, basically, the body is purifying itself on
a monthly basis if she's not expecting a
child.
And this is why, when a woman is
expecting a child, the period stops.
Because now she's expecting a child, and she's
pregnant.
Whereas, otherwise, the body purifies itself.
The body is purifying itself, and hayat blood
is distinct from other blood.
Hayat blood is darker, and it's thicker, and
it has a distinct odor.
And it can also have pains associated with
it.
So, when a woman is on her cycle,
sometimes she can go through pain.
It can also have an emotional impact on
the woman in her behavior, the way she
may speak.
And the way she may speak, because of
the pain, it may affect just her behavior.
And, emotionally, it could have an impact on
her also.
So, this is the menstrual cycle.
And, as we said, it's a sign of
a healthy reproductive system that she's able to
have children.
And this is why, when you get to
a certain age, the period will stop.
Because, after a certain age, the woman isn't
able to have any more children.
And so, elderly women, for example, they don't
have periods because they're not able to have
children.
So, in essence, this is what hayat is.
And there are a number of issues that
the scholars discuss when it comes to the
menstrual cycle.
First of all, is hayat something which is
measured by days or by weeks?
How do you know the period of a
cycle?
How is it measured?
Are there specific days that it's attached to?
Is it a specific number of years?
For example, when a person reaches a certain
age, then they will have the cycle.
Of course, it's when a woman reaches the
age of puberty.
The scholars, they say that, essentially, with regards
to somebody being on the menstrual cycle, the
length isn't necessarily looked at.
You look at the signs.
So, you look at the blood specifically.
If it's considered menstrual blood, so long as
there is menstrual blood, then she's on her
cycle.
Regardless of how many days, specifically, that's going
to be.
And we'll get to the issue of irregular
periods of time and issues which affect the
woman where maybe it's not considered necessarily hayat
blood.
It might be considered istihadah, which is a
different type of blood that we'll mention, inshallah.
And Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, speaks about
rulings related to menstruation.
Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, says in Surah
Baqarah, وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْمَحِيضِ They ask you regarding
menstruation.
قُلُهُ وَأَذَى Say, it is a harm.
It's harmful.
فَأْتَزِلُ النِّسَاءَ فِي الْمَحِيضِ So, stay away from
women.
Don't have relations with women while they are
on their monthly cycle.
فَإِذَا تَطَحَرْنَا And when they purify themselves, فَأْتُوهُنَّ
مِنْ حَيْثُ أَمَرَكُمُ اللَّهِ Then approach them in
the manner which has been specified by Allah,
meaning in a permissible and halal way.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَحِرِينَ Verily, Allah
loves those who repent to Him and those
who purify themselves.
So this ayah is very explicit in speaking
about the rulings related to somebody who is
on their cycle, and also its impure nature,
and also the intimate relationship that is forbidden
now in this state, when the woman goes
on her cycle, that it's not permissible for
a man to have * and to be
intimate with his spouse when she's in this
state.
So as we said, it's related to the
impurity, and so long as she is in
that state of impurity as a result of
the discharge which comes out of the body,
then she's considered to be حائط, meaning she's
considered to be on the menstrual cycle itself.
And certain things are required for her to
either do or not to do when she's
on her menstrual cycle.
So for example, number one, of course, when
she's on the menstrual cycle, it's not permissible
for her to pray, and it's not permissible
for her to fast.
Specifically these two types of worship, these two
categories of عبادة, prayer and fasting, now are
not permitted for her to do while she's
in this state.
And Fatima, she was told by the Prophet
ﷺ, the daughter of the Prophet ﷺ was
told, إذا أقبلت الحيضة فدعي الصلاة that when
you are on your cycle, when you are
menstruating, then stay away from the Salah.
Stay away from the Salah, and this is
a hadith in Bukhari.
So if somebody is in this specific state,
then it's not permissible for them to pray,
and also it's not permissible for them to
fast.
And in fact, if she does pray or
fast in that state knowingly, intentionally, then she's
sinful, because this is a command from Allah.
It's a specific command from Allah ordering her
not to do so.
And so if she intentionally decides to pray
or fast, then she's going to be sinful.
Obviously if it's accidental, then there's no sin
on her in that situation.
And when she purifies herself, meaning when she
comes off the cycle, what does she do
in this situation?
If she comes off the cycle, then she
makes up the fasts, but she doesn't make
up the prayers.
She makes up the fasts, but she doesn't
make up the prayers, and this is by
unanimous consensus.
And this is a mercy from Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, because obligatory fasts are 30
or 29 in the month of Ramadan, and
then there may be some other obligatory fasts,
such as if a person made an oath
to fast, for example, or fasts from previous
Ramadans that she needed to make up, where
a salah is five times every single day.
So every single month, if she's on her
cycle, and a woman may be on a
cycle for seven days, ten days, two weeks,
if she's on her cycle for that period
of time, and she's missing salawat, then she
has to make up for them, this is
going to be a hardship for her.
On top of the fact that she has
to make up the fasts.
So it's from the mercy of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
And this shows us the wisdom of abiding
by the commands of Allah, in all circumstances,
in any situation, in any topic, under every
category, under the sun.
Whether it's ibadah, salah, zakah, saum, hajj, a
woman on her menstrual cycle, or what a
person does if he's wealthy, if he's poor,
a person and how he interacts with regards
to marriage and divorce, with regards to the
opposite gender, with regards to buying and selling,
clothing, appearance, whatever the case may be.
The wisdom of Allah and his legislation is
better for a person to follow, as opposed
to his own desires, or as opposed to
taking on board what society is saying, or
what the local custom may be, which may
have its place, but it doesn't go over
the law and decree of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, and the rulings of Allah azza
wa jal, there's always wisdom and khair and
benefit in whatever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
has decreed, and as Allah says, وَمِنْ تَقِ
اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَّهُمَّ اخْرَجًا Whoever fears Allah, Allah
will find for him a way out.
Meaning, you're not going to find a way
out, in fact, you're going to find things
being more difficult for you, you're going to
be constricting and restricting yourself, if you decide
to follow other than Allah.
Which is amazing, because people think, if they
do things which aren't part of the sharia
of Allah, things will be made easier for
them.
If they do things opposing the ahkam and
the rulings of Allah, they do them because
they think it's going to make things easier
for them, it's going to open doors for
them, whether it's careers or other things.
Whereas in fact the reality is, when a
person obeys Allah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
does make things easy for you.
Allah makes things easy for you because you're
following his path, and you're doing things for
the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
so this is a perfect example.
Allah has made it easy, Allah has facilitated,
Allah has given this, not even a concession,
this is a command from Allah.
And it's for the betterment of women, that
if they're on their menstrual cycle, they stay
away from salah, and if they don't, they're
making hajj upon themselves, and it's something which
is haram for them to do, for them
to decide to pray.
And Aisha radiallahu anha, she said, كنا نحيض
على عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
that we used to be on our cycles
in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, and
we were commanded to make up for our
fasts, but we weren't commanded to make up
for our salahs.
It's a hadith in Bukhari and Muslim, so
it's very, very clear that a person who
is on her cycle, a woman who is
on her cycle, she doesn't have to make
up her prayers, but she does have to
make up her fasts, if she had missed
any fasts.
Even if she was in a situation where
she purified herself, and she wasn't on her
cycle, the imam in the book, he says,
ولولا متطاهر إلا بعد طلوع الفجر بلحظة that
if she came on her cycle just after
the end of Fajr, the time of Fajr
has just been missed.
It's not required for her to pray now,
even if she just missed it.
And likewise, if she came on just before
the sun sets, which would be Salatul Maghrib.
So if she came on just before the
setting of the sun, in that situation, she
shouldn't think to herself, well, I haven't really
come on the cycle completely, or whatever the
case may be, and she decides to pray.
This isn't something which is permitted.
She might say, it's just a few minutes,
just a minute before prayer, let me just
pray.
No.
Once the signs are there, and we'll speak
about the signs inshallah, once the signs are
there, if it happens just before Maghrib, then
she doesn't pray Maghrib.
Because she came on her cycle just before
the Salat.
Likewise, if she came on just before, or
just after the end of Fajr, just after
the end of Fajr.
So Salat and fasting are not permitted for
her.
She has to make up for her fasts.
She doesn't have to.
In fact, she doesn't need to make up
for the prayers that she misses, but she
has to make up for her fasts.
Number two, what's impermissible for her to do,
is the tawaf of the Kaaba.
It's not permitted for her to perform tawaf
of the Kaaba, nor is it permitted for
her to stay in the masjid.
It's not permitted for her to stay in
the masjid.
Some of the scholars, again there's khilaf on
these issues, without going into too much detail.
Some of the scholars, they say, it might
be permitted for a woman to enter a
masjid for specific reasons, as long as she's
able to cover and protect herself, but to
be on the safe side.
And it seems like the majority, they say,
that it's not permissible for a woman to
enter the masjid.
It's not permissible for a woman to do
tawaf.
Aisha, she was told by the Prophet, do
whatever a hajj does during hajj.
Do whatever the person performing hajj does, except
for doing tawaf of the Kaaba.
Except for doing tawaf of the house, of
the house of Allah, of the Kaaba.
So, tawaf is something which is not permitted,
and staying in the masjid also is something
which is not permitted.
Number three, intimate relations with the husband, specifically
the two private parts meeting.
And this ayah that we mentioned in Surah
Baqarah, they ask you about menstruation.
Say it is harmful.
From the word i'tazala, which literally would mean
to stay away from.
And in this case, the scholars, they say,
what does this mean?
Because the word literally means to stay away
from.
Stay away from women.
Does that mean we don't talk to them,
and keep them in a different room, and
don't come into contact with them?
This is referring to something else.
It's referring to intimacy.
It's referring to having intimacy with one's spouse.
So they say, which is not having the
two private parts meet.
It's not permitted for a person to be
intimate in that way with one's spouse.
And a narration of the Prophet, salallahu alayhi
wa sallam, says, Everything is permitted.
Do everything except for actual *.
So when a woman is on her cycle,
that wouldn't be permitted.
But if a person was holding, hugging, kissing,
et cetera, that would be permissible in that
situation as long as the two private parts
don't meet, which is, of course, not permitted
because of the discharge and because of the
impurity, it wouldn't be permitted.
And also the pain that is associated with
the menstrual cycle for the majority of women
also.
That is something also not permissible.
Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, says, when
they are in a pure state.
So don't divorce them when they are on
their monthly cycle.
And there's a narration of Ibn Umar, radiallahu
anhu, the son of Umar ibn al-Khattab,
radiallahu anhu, where he was married, he had
a wife, and he divorced his wife while
she was on her menstrual cycle.
She divorced while she was on her menstrual
cycle.
And Umar ibn al-Khattab, radiallahu anhu, found
out, and he informed the Prophet, salallahu wasalam.
And the Prophet, salallahu wasalam, became very angry
at what Ibn Umar, radiallahu anhu, had done.
And then he commanded Ibn Umar, radiallahu anhu,
to return her to his house and keep
her as his wife until she became pure,
until she was in a pure state, until
she was off her cycle.
And again, there's hikmah and there's wisdom in
this.
What is the wisdom and the hikmah in
this?
Because as we said, when a woman is
in that state, she may say things, she
may do things, she may behave in a
way which is not normal for her when
she's not on her cycle.
And so, you know, her man, her husband
may take it the wrong way, he may
react in a way which, you know, is
maybe normal for the man, but the man
needs to understand that in that situation, in
those circumstances, the behavior of the woman isn't
normal.
She may be doing things, behaving in a
way which is not normal.
The husband needs to have this wisdom, the
patience, the ability to be able to understand
that this isn't the way she normally is.
There's differences here, she's on her cycle.
And so it wouldn't be permitted for him
to divorce her while she's in that state,
because sometimes they don't know what they're saying
and they don't know what they're doing.
They even forget, they don't realize how they
were behaving.
And so it wouldn't be wise, a person
should wait.
Sometimes the man may get angry, he may
get annoyed, he may lose his temper.
And this is why even some scholars say
if a man divorces his wife in a
fit of anger, then even in those cases
he may not be permissible.
But the point is here that there's a
wisdom behind why Allah and His Messenger ﷺ
have given these types of rulings.
There's always a wisdom, there's always a benefit.
And so Ibn Umar r.a. returned her
and didn't divorce her.
And he kept her because of the fact
that she was on her menstrual cycle.
So divorce in that specific situation wouldn't be
permitted.
And it's also not permitted for the woman
in that state, this is number five, to
touch the mushaf.
She's permitted to recite Quran based on the
correct opinion, Allah knows best, but it wouldn't
be permissible for her to actually touch the
mushaf itself.
And I think we spoke about this when
we spoke about tahara and what's permitted and
what's not permitted for people who are impure,
whether they're on their cycle or whether they
haven't done wudu, etc.
And there's also a narration of the Prophet
ﷺ where he said, that no one should
touch the Quran except for somebody who is
in a pure state.
So a woman who is on her cycle,
she's not in her pure state because she's
not praying, she's not fasting, certain things are
not permitted.
So it wouldn't be permitted for her to
touch the mushaf also.
So purity, being in a state of purity,
how can one recognize being in this specific
state?
A woman will come off the cycle, she'll
come out of the menstrual cycle, when there
is no more dam, when there is no
more blood.
So once the blood is gone, then that's
a sign the blood starts to decrease, and
once the blood is completely gone, that's a
sign that she is now off her cycle
and that any obligations that she had, of
salah for example, she would have to begin,
if she was fasting in Ramadan, and she
came off her cycle, then she would continue
fasting again because anything which was not permitted
while she was on her cycle is now
permitted because she is now off her cycle.
So if the bleeding stops, then she has
purified herself, and prior to doing acts of
worship, she must perform ghusl.
Prior to her doing acts of worship, so
let's say a week goes by, she was
on her cycle, the bleeding stops, she's not
on her cycle anymore, it's isha time, she
can't pray until she performs ghusl.
Similar to a man who is in a
state of janabah, and a woman also, you
perform ghusl after the deed, and then after
you perform ghusl, then you can pray and
you can do ibadah.
So when a woman is on her menstrual
cycle and then she finishes, and her bleeding
stops, she has to perform ghusl prior to
her person, prior to her performing salah.
So she performs ghusl and then she performs
salah.
And some of the female companions, they would
say that we never considered yellowish discharge as
a sign or a thing of importance after
being off the cycle.
Meaning that if there were other discharges, not
blood that was coming out, then it wouldn't
be something which would be a big deal,
meaning it wouldn't be something that we would
consider as something which would affect our obligation
to pray.
So prior to a person performing salah, they
would have to be in a state of
purity, meaning they would have to perform ghusl
and then they would pray.
There are some issues which the scholars speak
about.
If a woman becomes pure after being on
her menstrual cycle, before the time of salah
finishes, then does she have to pray?
So let's say for example, though her time
has come in, she's on her cycle.
And just before, though her time finishes, she's
off her cycle, does she have to pray
now?
Let's say it's five minutes before asr.
Yes, because she's in that salah time and
she's in a state of purity and there
is no reason for her not to pray
anymore.
So there is time left for her to
pray.
So in that situation, she should pray.
What about for example, if she was not
on her cycle and her time is due
to be on her cycle, and let's say
for example, dhuhr comes in and halfway through
the period of time you have to pray
dhuhr, before asr starts, let's say it's two
hours in the winter, about two hours before
asr comes in.
An hour goes by for dhuhr and then
she's on her cycle.
What does she do?
She doesn't pray.
Does she have to make up for that
prayer?
Because she could have prayed.
She could have prayed because there was an
hour where she was pure, but she didn't
pray.
The second hour of dhuhr, she can't pray.
But the first hour of dhuhr, could she
have prayed?
She could have prayed.
So the scholars discuss this.
They say, okay, well, first hour she was
pure, she could have prayed, she never prayed.
But now, some of the scholars say she
has to do qadha.
Other scholars say she doesn't have to do
qadha.
They say she doesn't have to do qadha.
Ibn Taymiyyah, rahimahullah, he speaks about this issue.
Ibn Taymiyyah, he mentions how the scholars differ
with regards to whether a woman has to
make up for specific prayers.
Like I mentioned, when she was not on
her cycle, and then she was on her
cycle in the time of that salah.
The example we just gave.
And Ibn Taymiyyah, rahimahullah, he gives the two
opinions.
So he mentions that Imam Shafi and Imam
Ahmed, they say that she has to make
up for it.
And he says that Imam Abu Hanifa, rahimahullah,
and Imam Malik, they say, لا يلزمها شيء.
That nothing is prescribed for her.
She doesn't have to make up for them.
And he gives his reason.
Ibn Taymiyyah, he says, لأن القضاء إنما يجب
بأمر جديد.
Because for her to make up for the
salah, there would have to be a new
command issued.
In the Quran or in the Sunnah.
So she's not in a state of purity.
The principle in Islam is, if a woman
is on her cycle, she doesn't pray.
That's the rule.
So the fact that she's on her cycle,
you would need a new ruling.
There would be something that would need to
arise.
There would have to be some evidence somewhere
to suggest that she would have to pray,
which goes in contrast to the general principle
of her not actually praying.
And also the narrations we mentioned of the
companions of the Prophet ﷺ, the female companions,
where they would speak about how they wouldn't
pray.
So the female companions, they would say, we
would make up and we would do qadha
of fasting.
But we weren't commanded to do qadha of
the prayer.
There's a hadith in Bukhari Muslim.
So this shows us that the general principle
is that even if she was on her
cycle halfway through the period of time where
the time for salah was applicable, and she
came on her cycle halfway through, the fact
that she came on her cycle halfway through
doesn't mean now that she has to make
up for that prayer because the time given
is the whole period of time, for dhuhr
for example.
She has the option to pray any time.
So it wasn't incumbent upon her to pray
in the first hour.
And if a person delays, is that permitted?
To delay the prayer within the time of
the salah?
Of course, nothing wrong to delay it.
It's always best to pray at the early
time, no doubt.
The most beloved act to Allah is asr
ala waqtih, prayer at its earliest time.
But if a person chooses to delay for
whatever reason, then that's permitted.
The salah's still valid.
So in this case, Ibn Taymiyyah says she
doesn't need to do qadha of the prayers.
She doesn't need to do qadha of the
prayers.
It's not something which is necessary.
So that's, in essence, the chapter of hayy,
the chapter of menstruation.
Then you have the chapter of istihadah.
What is istihadah?
Istihadah is abnormal bleeding from the female private
part.
So it's not normal bleeding.
That's related to the woman's reproductive system of
having children and a sign of a woman
being healthy to have children, for example.
If a woman doesn't have periods, she can't
have children.
So it's purifying the body in preparation for
a baby, for being pregnant.
This is the whole purpose of the period.
Istihadah is abnormal bleeding from the female private
part that occurs outside of the menstrual cycle.
So it occurs outside of the menstrual cycle
of the woman or beyond its normal duration.
Istihadah may continue for a longer period of
time.
And it's not considered hayy blood.
It's not considered menstrual blood, but rather it's
irregular bleeding.
It's considered irregular bleeding.
And as a result of this, it has
different rulings, which we'll mention inshallah.
And also it's distinct.
It's distinctively different to the blood of hayy.
We mentioned hayy blood is thick and it's
darker in color.
And it has a distinct odor.
Istihadah is similar to regular blood.
So it's a regular color of blood, doesn't
have an odor.
And there isn't any pain associated with istihadah
blood.
But there is for menstrual blood.
There is pain associated with that.
And of course, these are all najis also.
So hayy blood, istihadah blood, nifas blood, postpartum
blood is also considered najis.
So in this situation, what does it do?
What are the circumstances related to somebody in
this situation, in this circumstance where a person
may be suffering, a woman may be suffering
from istihadah?
It could be the case that a woman
who has istihadah continues to have istihadah for
the whole month.
So this is something which can happen.
May Allah protect our women from this.
Because this is a problem.
It's not something which is normal.
It's considered an illness.
It's continuous.
A woman keeps on having istihadah blood.
In other cases, it can continue and then
it can stop for a small amount of
time.
And then it begins again.
So it may stop for a number of
days, a short number of days, a short
while.
And then it will continue again.
So there's no long period of time where
there is the blood stopping.
Because again, this is an illness.
It doesn't work like this.
This is what happens when a woman is
on her, when she's suffering from istihadah.
And there's three cases or three scenarios when
a woman is in this state where she's
suffering from istihadah.
The first state is when she knows the
period of time she's on her menstrual cycle.
So she has a'ada ma'rufah, meaning
her menstrual cycle is for a specific time.
So she knows how long her menstrual cycle
is.
And then she knows when it begins, when
it ends.
And then she knows if she's suffering from
istihadah, after how many days her menstrual bleeding
stops and when istihadah begins.
So if she's aware of this, if she
understands and she's aware and she knows my
regular period is this amount of days, five
days, seven days, whatever it is, whatever the
case may be, then after these days, I
have istihadah.
She's aware of this.
So, for example, before she was in a
state of istihadah, she was on her menstrual
cycle for five days, or eight days, for
example, in the beginning of the month or
in the middle of the month.
And then she was aware of the time,
okay, and the length of her menstrual cycle.
And after this, she basically is aware of
her istihadah period, period of time, is what
I mean.
So if she's aware of her istihadah, what
does she do?
The scholars, they said, when her menstrual cycle
stops, she has ghusl, she bathes, and she
prays.
And she considers the rest of the blood
to be istihadah blood because istihadah blood is
distinct from hayth blood.
There's a difference.
So if there's a difference, and she can
tell the difference, she knows how long her
cycle is for, and if she can distinguish
between the two, then in this situation, once
she's off her cycle, but her istihadah bleeding
begins, that's not like hayth blood.
She needs to perform ghusl, and she needs
to start praying because, again, it's an illness,
it's something which she doesn't have any control
over.
I mean, she doesn't have control over hayth
blood either, but this is considered an illness,
so she's considered to pray.
And there's a narration of the Prophet, sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam, who told one of the
female companions, who was also in this situation,
remain away from prayer.
This is a hadith in Muslim.
He said to her, remain away from prayer
equal to the length of time that your
menses prevented you from praying.
Your hayth.
So stay away from salah for the period
of time that you were on your menstrual
cycle, which prevented you from praying.
After this period, after this period of time,
so the menstrual cycle has finished, bathe yourself
and offer the prayer.
Bathe yourself and offer the prayer.
So the hadith specifically mentions hayth blood.
He's saying, remain away from your salah equal
to the length that hayth blood would prevent
you from praying.
After this period of time, perform ghusl and
just pray.
So in that situation, they're told to just
pray.
That's the first category.
They know the length of time for period
and the length of time of istihadah or
when istihadah begins after their menstrual cycle.
The second circumstance is when they don't know
their period of time that they're on their
menstrual cycle, which can happen.
It's sporadic.
It might be longer, it might be shorter,
etc.
They don't know.
The first category, they know the amount of
time.
They know it's five days.
A clockwork.
The second category, they don't know how long
they might be on for.
It might be five days, it might be
six days, it might be eight days, it
might be nine days, it might be four
days, whatever it is.
And in this situation, they can't tell whether
or not they're off their menstrual cycle and
they have istihadah blood by the period of
time, but they can tell by the difference
in the blood, the blood itself, the color,
the texture, etc.
So in this situation, they'll look at the
blood and they'll be able to distinguish from
the blood itself.
If it has the qualities of hayat blood,
then they don't pray.
If it has the qualities of istihadah blood,
then they perform ghusl and they pray.
And another narration mentions that the Prophet, sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam, he said, when the blood
of menstruation comes, it is black blood which
can be recognized.
So when that comes, refrain from prayer.
But when a different type comes, perform wudu
and pray, for it is due only to
a vein.
This is a hadith.
The hadith explicitly is mentioning, it's a hadith
in Abu Dawud, and it's considered Sahiba ibn
Hibban and others.
He's saying, when the blood of menstruation comes,
the blood of hayat comes, it's considered black
in color, and it's something which can be
recognized, so stay away from salah.
But when it's a different type of blood,
meaning it's like istihadah, then perform ablution and
pray, because it's only due to a vein.
So again, there's a distinction between hayat blood
and between blood which is from istihadah.
The third category is when she doesn't have
a specific length connected to her cycle, and
also she can't distinguish between the two types
of blood.
Okay, because maybe it looks similar, or she
just can't distinguish, for whatever reason.
In this situation, there's no way of her
being able to know.
What does she do in this situation?
She takes the general length of time that
a woman may be on for, based on
the urf and the local custom and the
people around her that she knows of the
women, and it may be six days or
seven days, that's the general length of time
of each month.
So, as far as she's concerned, she doesn't
pray, she doesn't fast, in that period of
time, six or seven days, which is what
the scholars mentioned, and then, because this is
the common a'ada, the common habit of
women, for them to be on their cycle
for that period of time, generally speaking.
After the six or seven days, then she
prays.
Because she can't distinguish between menstrual blood and
other blood.
So she can't just not pray for the
rest of her life.
She has to pray.
So in this situation, you do whatever you
can, you fear Allah as much as you
can.
And, again, there are narrations which speak to
this effect.
In Tirmidhi and others, the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi
wa sallam, he said, this is a strike
from the shaytan.
This is an attack from the shaytan.
He said, observe your menses for six or
seven days.
The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, actually mentioned
six or seven days.
Then perform ghusl until you see that you
are clean.
Pray for 24 days or 23 nights and
days, and fast also, and that will suffice
you.
Do so every month, just as other women
menstruate.
Do so every month, just as the other
women who menstruate do it.
Meaning just follow what the other women do,
because, again, you're not able to distinguish between
the two.
So a woman who's in a state of
istihada, who's suffering from istihada, when she comes
off her menstrual cycle, she has to obviously
perform ghusl, and then just pray as usual,
but she has to perform ghusl, and also
it's required for her to place something in
her private parts so that blood doesn't come
out, the istihada blood doesn't come out, and
so she's able to protect herself.
So that's with regards to istihada.
Finally, we move on to nifas.
What is nifas?
Nifas is postpartum blood.
So a woman gives birth, and then she
continues to bleed.
What does she do in that situation after
she's given birth, and she's in that weak
state where she's, of course, recovering from the
pain of childbirth?
What does she do in this situation?
We know, first of all, that this is
postpartum blood, postpartum blood, which means blood that
may have come out during her pregnancy isn't,
first of all, what isn't it?
It can't be what kind of blood?
It can't be menstrual blood, because a woman,
when she's pregnant, there is no menstrual cycle.
That's the whole point.
The menstrual cycle stops.
If a menstrual cycle stops, there's no menstrual
blood.
So it's not menstrual blood if she bleeds,
maybe because of some irregularities, maybe some minor
complications during pregnancy, whatever the case may be.
Anything which comes out doesn't take the ruling
of nifas blood, meaning she doesn't have to
perform ghusl.
A word was invalid, because some of this
came out of the private parts, but, of
course, there is no ghusl required.
So we know it's postpartum blood.
Post meaning after.
So it's postpartum blood that specifically we're speaking
about.
And the scholars, they say, nifas blood, postpartum
blood, is like hay blood with regards to
what's permitted, what's allowed for her, or what's
allowed for her husband.
The husband is permitted to spend time with
her.
The husband is permitted to do whatever is
permitted for the man, except for the actual
act of intimacy of the two private parts
meeting.
And also, what's forbidden for her is the
same as what's forbidden for her if she's
in a state of hayyat, which is fasting
not being permitted, salah not being permitted, again
talaq, divorce not being permitted, tawaf not being
permitted, staying in the masjid also wouldn't be
permissible for a woman who is in a
state of postpartum bleeding.
As well as performing ghusl once the bleeding
stops.
So basically it's the same as somebody who
is in a state of janabah.
And the scholars discussed the maximum length of
time of postpartum bleeding.
And they say, akthar muddathu arba'een yawman.
The maximum number of days is 40 days
for postpartum bleeding.
After 40 days, she should start praying even
if she's still bleeding.
Because that's the maximum.
The maximum is 40 days.
After 40 days, she starts to pray even
if she's still bleeding because the maximum is
40 days.
She can't just stay away from salah forever.
Again, she doesn't have to make up for
those prayers either.
Just like the ruling we gave for hayyat.
So she performs ghusl and she starts to
pray.
Also the scholars they speak about the one
who has a miscarriage.
Does it take the same ruling because she
hasn't given birth to a living child?
And the scholars they say that in this
situation if the fetus or whatever comes out
from her womb has resemblance to a human
then whatever blood comes out of the body
is considered nifas blood and she doesn't pray.
And they say for the clot of blood
to form into a fetus that looks like
something which is living that has the features
of an actual baby itself it would be
around three months.
So roughly around three months for there to
be some kind of local features of the
fetus itself of the clot of blood.
And in that situation she would because it
has those features.
If she does start bleeding after the miscarriage
then she wouldn't have to pray until she
stops bleeding of course unless it's more than
40 days.
So these are issues with regards to nifas.
One final issue.
The water that may come out of the
woman while she's pregnant when her waters break
for example does this take the ruling of
nifas blood or not?
Does it take the ruling of nifas blood?
So the scholars they say this isn't something
which is considered najis and it's not something
which breaks the wudu.
So it's something which comes out of the
body but it's not something which is considered
najis itself.
So she wouldn't have to perform or wash
her clothes or wash her private parts and
it doesn't invalidate the wudu itself.
Those are issues related to menstruation and inshallah
with that we're going to be concluding.
Any questions before we finish?
Yeah.
While they're pregnant they pray inshallah.
Any questions?
That was comfortable.
Any formalities or duties when the woman is
on istihadah?
Yeah as we mentioned it's permissible except for
the two private parts meeting.
When menstruating can we read Quran?
Yes you can read Quran when you're menstruating.
Are you allowed to touch the mushaf with
gloves on?
In reality you're not touching the mushaf if
you have gloves so that would be permissible.
Do we make up salah on the same
day we purify ourselves?
No so if you missed the salah because
you were on your cycle and then you
came off the cycle the previous prayer you
wouldn't have to make up for.
So dhuhr, if you missed dhuhr and you
came off your cycle during asr time you
don't have to pay dhuhr because you were
on your cycle, you've been excused.
If you notice she started after the start
of salah would she need to make up
for the salah?
No she wouldn't need to make up for
the salah.
If we finish menstruating during the day but
are unable to perform ghusl can we perform
tayammum?
No because there are specific conditions required to
perform tayammum.
If there is water available at work or
at school or wherever a person may be
then they would have to perform ghusl.
Tayammum is in those circumstances where there's danger
in a person not being able to there's
danger in a person performing ghusl or using
the water or there's a lack of water
or there's no water at all.
If I have a ghusl and I'm unable
to do one line is it ok to
attend the masjid?
Again we said if you're on your cycle
then it's not permissible for a person to
attend the masjid.
It's difficult to know when I am not
menstruating or when I finish menstruating as there
is only a tiny bit of blood.
If there is blood then you shouldn't be
praying until the blood completely goes.
Is it allowed to attend the masjid without
menses?
Again we've already mentioned that.
How long does a person have to make
up missed fasts?
So scholars differ.
InshaAllah when we get to the fiqh of
Siyam we'll speak about this.
But as long as it's easy for her
and she's able to make up the fasts
that she's missed from previous years then inshaAllah
she should try to make them up.
Unless it's really hard.
Unless she's missed like 10 Ramadan's.
It's going to be too difficult for her
to make up all of them.
Then in those cases inshaAllah it's fine if
she's able to make up for them.
She does whatever she can.
Any masjid she visits would be impermissible for
her to visit if she's on her cycle.
So that's any masjid.
If the cycle begins five minutes before you're
about to open your fast then that fast
is not valid.
If you start to menstruate just before iftar
then essentially there's no fast for you.
You have to make up that fast.
Again somebody's asking about janazah and sitting in
the masjid as a result of somebody passing
away.
It wouldn't be permitted for a person to
sit in the masjid in that situation if
you're on your monthly cycle.
Would it be better to make up the
prayer or not?
Again there's khilaf on this issue about making
up the salawat.
But as we said you don't pray because
you have an excuse which is that you
were on your cycle.
Based on the other narrations as well of
the female companions that we weren't told.
We weren't commanded to make up for the
prayers but we were commanded to make up
for the fasts.
Should your discharge at the time of the
cycle be ignored?
If there's no blood, that's the main thing,
then you're not on your cycle anymore.
Somebody's asking if you pray in the time
frame where the salah can be combined, do
you still not make up the salah?
So for example you become pure in asr,
do you pray dhuhr as well?
Some of the scholars do mention that if
it's asr time and you come off your
cycle in asr time that you pray dhuhr
and asr, you combine.
Because combining was something which the companions and
the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam would do
even if he was resident due to the
weather or for difficulty and hardship.
So there is an opinion inshallah if you
wish to follow it.
Is there a maximum length of time for
menses?
No, again it differs but it's more dependent
on the blood itself.
Is a woman's hajj accepted if she's menstruating?
Yes, it is permitted.
Her hajj inshallah is permitted because it's something
which is not in her control.
Is it okay if the days of menses
are longer than the days of purity?
Again, that's based on the woman.
So some women, they may have longer cycles
than others.
And that's something, again, she has no control
over.
Istihadah on ifaahs for 40 days, do you
need to do wudhu for every prayer?
Yes.
So if a woman's on her istihadah, then
she would need to perform wudhu prior to
the salah because she's in that specific state.
Is it okay to lay ghusl due to
circumstances, finishing school or work?
As long as it's within the salah time,
then it would be permitted to delay ghusl.
But not because you're not on your cycle
anymore.
So if it's one hour before asr, then
you need to perform ghusl before asr comes
in to pray dhuhr.
So you have to make sure you do
ghusl prior to the time of the salah
finishing.
With that, inshallah, we'll conclude.
Jazakumullah khair.
Subhanakallahumma bihamdika shadu wa la ilaha illa anta
wa astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayka wa salamu alaykum
wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.