Issues of Menstruation and Post-Natal Bleeding

Bismillahir  rahman  nir  rahim

Taharah

 Assalamu alaikum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatahu J

 Issues of Menstruation and Post-Natal Bleeding

The time of starting, ending, duration of periods and menopause are different for different women. They depend on her physical, emotional make up and the place she lives in , among other things.

A woman has to STOP praying when her menses start and RESUME her prayers once , the menses are over and she takes a bath. [nasai]

A woman is not ‘na paak’—as in anything she touches, wears etc is usable for purposes of namaaz or wu’zu purposes. As long as no visible filth( blood) on them.

Volume 1, Book 6, Number 329:
Narrated Maimuna:
(the wife of the Prophet) During my menses, I never prayed, but used to sit on the mat beside the mosque of Allah's Apostle. He used to offer the prayer on his sheet and in prostration some of his clothes used to touch me."
Ayesha (ra) would drink water and the Prophet s.a.w used to drink from the same vessel and the same place as her.[Muslim]
Ayesha (r.a) would share her piece of meat on the bone with the Prophet s.a.w and he used to eat from the same piece and the same place as her. [Muslim]
Ayesha (ra) used to wash the Prophet s.a.w ‘s head . [Muslim]
The Prophet s.a.w used to lie on a pillow in her lap and used to recite the Quran [Bukhari vol 1 6, 296, Muslim
Ayesha (ra) used to comb the Prophet s.a.w’s hair and he used to lean on her. [Bukhari vol 1 6 294]
A man is allowed to kiss his wife while she is having her menses (periods). [Muslim]
Except tawaf a menstruating woman can do and complete all the rituals of Hajj.[Bukhari 6, 302]
No fasts, no prayers and no tawaf for a menstruating woman.
There is no need for a woman to compensate for her missed prayers in menses [Bukhari 6, 318]
The moment the menses(period) starts , the fast is over for the woman, even if it’s a minute before sun set( iftar )
A menstruating woman can eat and drink normally once her fast is broken.
If she continues to stay with out food and hunger , out of respect for the fast, them she is only harming her self. Allah s.w.t has given this ease to the woman , as she is physically in need to nourishment during her menses.
And there would be NO sawab for continuing the fast by not eating or drinking even after the period starts.

Its necessary to compensate the missed fasts after Ramadan.

The hadith in Bukhari[ 6, 301] where in the Prophet s.a.w is telling the woman that they are deficient in their religious commitment, is not a scolding or a form of putting the woman down.

It’s a warning for the woman to be prepared to do something extra or different  to compensate her missed prayers or fasts during menses.

A woman can do tasbih, repeat duas etc during her periods. This helps in fighting the feelings of depression and also keeps the counter of the Ibaadat .

 A woman can pray extra nafl rakats after her periods are over to try and compensate the missed prayers, but this is NOT A FARD OR WAJIB. This is just a SUGGESTION.

A menstruating woman is not allowed to sit in the mosque( i.e the main prayer area). The hikmat ( wisdom) behind these rulings is that some times the flow of menses is so much that a woman might unintentionally spoil the place of worship, be in the area around the Ka’ba or the place of namaz in a mosque. So to avoid such incidents this ruling has been given.

In a lot of places, like USA and other places, the mosque and the Islamic Center are either one or in the same building. In such cases, the woman can attend her classes o visit the library of the mosque /Islamic Center, but avoid sitting in the Main Area for Prayers.

If a woman ends  periods before the athan , she can take Sehri and take a bath and then pray and continue her fast ( applicable for Ramadan or nafl fasts)

BUT—if there is some spotting and she takes a bath after the sun has risen ( i.e the time for fajr prayer has finished ) then she should not fast as it would not be counted as one.

If there is any menstrual blood on the clothes, a woman can wash that area properly with soap and water so much that the final water coming out should be clean and can sprinkle the rest of the clothes with water( to freshen it ) and pray in the same clothes.[ Bukhari]

A menstruating woman can sit on the janamaaz and pick up the tasbih and do zikr.

The Prophet s.a.w asked Ayesha (ra) to bring the Janamaaz to the mosque [Muslim]

For the Eid prayers ( both)  all women including menstruating women and those to observe strict purdah are encouraged to attend the namaaz. They can sit a little away from the main prayer area, listen to the khutbah and join in the dua and meet and greet everyone on eid after the prayer is over.

I f there is no spotting on clothes, then a woman doesn’t need to to wash them and  wear them again. They can be worn again  and prayed in without washing.

The dupatta of a menstruating woman can be used to pray in.

Maimuna (ra) and the Prophet s.a.w shared that same sheet while she would be menstruating.

If menses are over and a yellow or brown color discharge still continues then a woman doesn’t need to take a bath again . [Abu dawud].

There is no need of excessive haste and excessive delay in taking a bath after the menses are over. One should not take a bath till complete end of menses [ Bukhari ]

If due to any valid reason a woman cannot take a bath after finishing her menses  and misses her prayers, then she needs to make it up ,with the next one that she prayers.

If after the menses are over and a woman continues to have spotting, she can continue her prayers after taking a bath.

If necessary for a woman to first bathe, THEN PRAY and then have relations with her husband as prayers come first [Bukhari]

If the time for a prayer starts and a woman delays praying and she starts her menses, then she HAS TO COMPENSATE FOR THAT PRAYER ONCE HER MENSES ARE OVER.

For e.g; if its time for zuhr prayer and a woman delays praying to feed her family first or any other work, and  she starts her menses, then that prayer needs to be compensated as it became a FARD on her.

If a woman bathes and there is only time left to pray 1 rakat of namaz, she SHOULD PRAY THAT 1 RAKAT .

BUT, if there is no time for asr as magrib is fast approaching , then she should pray the asr qaza after magrib.

The kafara for a man who has sexual relations with his wife:

While still in menses—1 dinar and 4 gm gold

Menses are over but yet to bathe—half a dinar and 2 gm gold.[ Abu dawud Bk 1 #0264 and Ibn Maja]

The wisdom behind this ruling is to protect the rights of a woman, as relations in such conditions can be very painful for the woman, and also cause serious medical problems for a woman and man.

A woman should take a break while reciting the Quran. Its not supported by an Hadith though.

Ibrahim Naqhi, a woman can recite the Quran.

There is a sahi hadith that supports that a woman can recite the Quran while menstruating.

A woman can touch the Arabic text of the Quran but with gloves or any cloth.

A woman should take permission from her husband ( and doctor!! ) before taking any pills for delaying or changing the dates of her menses.

This has been derived from the hadith from Bukhari where in a woman needs to take her husband’s permission to keep nafl fasts.

A man cannot divorce his wife she is menstruating.[Bukhari]

The wisdom behind this is that while menstruating a woman is emotionally and physically unstable and weak and is more prone to fighting and bad temper. Hence a man has to use his self control ad his temper!! J