Ghusl for Menstruation and Postpartum

My father, may Allah سبحانه وتعالى have mercy on him, wrote to me in his letter: 'Know that the minimum days of menstruation are three days, and the maximum is ten days. If a woman sees blood for three days or more, up to ten days, it is considered menstruation, and She must refrain from prayer and not enter the mosque except while passing through. It is obligatory for her to perform wudu (ablution) before each prayer, sit facing the Qiblah, and remember Allah سبحانه وتعالى for the duration of her daily prayer. If She sees blood for one or two days, it is not considered menstruation unless She sees blood for three consecutive days. She must make up the prayers that She missed during those one or two days. If She sees blood for more than ten days, She should refrain from prayer for ten days, then perform ghusl (ritual bath) on the eleventh day and use a cotton pad (Kersaf). If the blood does not soak through the pad, She can perform her prayers with wudu. If the blood soaks through the pad but does not flow, She prays the Salat Al Layl prayer and the Fajr prayer with ghusl, and the other prayers with wudu. If the blood flows, She prays the Salat Al Layl prayer and the Fajr prayer with ghusl, and the Dhuhr and Asr prayers with ghusl, delaying the Dhuhr prayer slightly and hastening the Asr prayer, and She prays the Maghrib and Isha prayers with one ghusl, delaying the Maghrib prayer slightly and hastening the Isha prayer until her menstruation days arrive, at which point She refrains from prayer. Once She has performed ghusl as described, it becomes permissible for her husband to approach her. The minimum period of purity (tuhr) is ten days, and there is no maximum limit. A menstruating woman should use nine ratls of water for ghusl, measured by the Medinian Ratl. If a woman sees yellowish discharge during her menstruation days, it is considered part of her menstruation. If She sees it during her purification days, it is considered a sign of purity.

The ghusl (ritual bathing) for janabah (ritual impurity due to sexual discharge) and menstruation is the same, and a menstruating woman should not dye her hair, as it is feared that it may expose her to the influence of the devil.

If a pregnant woman sees blood, She should refrain from prayer, as it is possible for her to experience bleeding, especially if the blood is abundant and red. If it is little and yellow, She should pray and only perform wudu (ablution). When a menstruating woman becomes pure, She must make up her fasts but is not required to make up her prayers. The reasons for this are twofold: one is to inform the people that the Sunnah (tradition) cannot be equated to Qiyas (deductive analogy), and the other is that fasting is only required for one month in the year, while prayer is required every day and night. Therefore, Allah سبحانه وتعالى, the Exalted, has made it obligatory for her to make up the fast but not the prayer. It is not permissible for a junub (ritually impure due to sexual discharge) and a menstruating woman to be present during the teaching (talqeen), as the angels are disturbed by them. However, they may wash the deceased and pray over them, but they should not lower the body into the grave. If they are present when the person's soul is departing and cannot avoid it, they should leave when the person is close to passing away.

This indicates the age at which a woman typically becomes post-menopausal. If a woman has her first menstruation, and her blood lasts for three months without knowing the days of her periods, her periods will be like those of her female relatives. If her female relatives have varying durations, her maximum time for sitting (during her period) is ten days. The term 'Iqrah' refers to the gathering of blood between menstruation periods and purity, as a woman collects blood during her menstruation days and then expels it during her period. A woman who becomes pure from her menstruation at the time of 'Asr (afternoon prayer) does not have to pray the Dhuhr (noon prayer) but only prays the prayer during which She becomes pure. If She sees purity during a prayer time and delays ghusl until the time of another prayer enters, if She was negligent in her duties, She must make up that prayer. If She was not negligent and was merely preparing for the ghusl until another prayer time entered, She does not have to make up the missed prayer; She simply prays the one for which the time has come. If a woman prays two rak'ahs of Dhuhr and then sees blood while sitting, She does not have to make up the two rak'ahs when She becomes pure. If She is in the Maghrib prayer and has prayed two rak'ahs, She should get up from her place and make up the remaining rak'ah if She becomes pure. If She is in prayer and suspects that She has started her menstruation, She can touch the area and check. If She sees blood, She should stop her prayer; if She does not see anything, She can complete her prayer.

If a woman's menstruation is delayed for a month, She should not take medicine to induce her period from the same day, because once the sperm reaches the womb, it becomes a clot, then a lump, then what Allah سبحانه وتعالى wills. If sperm does not reach the womb, nothing is created from it. Therefore, if her menstruation stops for a month and exceeds the time She used to menstruate, She should not take any medication. If a man purchases a mature female slave and She does not menstruate for six months, and there is no pregnancy and it is common for someone of her age to menstruate, and it is not due to age, this is considered a defect for which She can be returned. A menstruating woman is not required to wash the clothes She wore during her menstruation or sweated in unless they were soiled with blood, in which case She must wash the blood. If blood from menstruation stains her clothing and She washes it but the stain does not go away, She may dye it with a dye (like red ochre) until it blends in. If menstruation stops and the woman dyes her hair with henna, her menstruation may return. There is no harm in a menstruating woman pouring water for someone performing wudu or handing them the prayer mat It is not permissible to have intercourse with a woman during her menstruation, as Allah سبحانه وتعالى, the Exalted, has prohibited this, saying: 'Do not approach them until they are pure,' [Surah Al-Baqarah 2:222] meaning until they perform ghusl after menstruation. If a man is very eager and the woman has purified herself but not performed ghusl, he may ask her to wash her private parts before intercourse. If a man has intercourse with a woman during her menstruation, he must give charity: a dinar if it is during the beginning of menstruation, half a dinar if it is during the middle, and a quarter of a dinar if it is at the end.

If a man has intercourse with his slave while She is menstruating, he should give three measures (amdad) of food as charity. This applies if the intercourse was vaginal; if it was not vaginal, there is no penalty upon him.

A slave woman must observe a waiting period (istibraʾ) of one menstrual cycle upon being purchased, and if someone purchases a slave and has intercourse with her before this waiting period, he has committed fornication with his own property. If a woman wishes to perform ghusl (ritual bathing) after menstruation, She must ensure She is free of menstrual blood (istibraʾ). This means inserting a piece of cotton; if blood is present, even the size of a fly's head, She should not perform ghusl. If no blood is present, She may perform ghusl. If She notices a yellowish or foul-smelling discharge, She should press her abdomen against a wall and raise her left leg, similar to the way a dog urinates, and insert a cotton piece. If it comes out with blood, She is still menstruating; if not, She is not. If She is unsure whether the blood is menstrual or from a wound in her private area, She should lie on her back and insert her finger; if the blood comes from the right side, it is from the wound, and if it comes from the left side, it is menstrual blood. If her virginity was broken by her husband and bleeding does not stop, and She does not know whether it is menstrual blood or blood from the loss of virginity, She should insert a cotton piece; if it comes out encircled with blood, it is from the rupture, and if it is soaked, it is menstrual blood. Blood from the rupture does not exceed the labia, while menstrual blood is warm and flows with intensity. Blood from irregular bleeding (istihadah) is cold and flows without the woman being aware. If a woman sees blood for five days and is pure for five days or sees blood for four days and is pure for six days, then during the days She sees blood, She should not pray, and when She is pure, She should pray, continuing this cycle for up to thirty days. If thirty days pass and She sees a continuous flow of blood, She should perform ghusl, use cotton, and secure herself for each prayer time. If She notices yellowish discharge, She should perform wudu. If a menstruating woman becomes pure while traveling and does not have enough water for a full ghusl but has enough to wash her private parts, She should wash it, perform dry ablution (tayammum), and pray. It is permissible for her husband to approach her in this state after She washes her private parts and performs tayammum. Women are discouraged from observing themselves during menstruation, as they have been prohibited from doing so.

If a woman gives birth, She should refrain from prayer for ten days, unless She becomes pure (stops bleeding) before that. If the bleeding continues, She should refrain from prayer for up to eighteen days, because Asma bint Umays experienced postnatal bleeding (nifas) with Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr during the Farewell Pilgrimage, and the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم instructed her to refrain for eighteen days.

The reports that mention a forty-day period for refraining (from prayer during postnatal bleeding) and beyond until purification are considered weak (defective) and were narrated for purposes of precaution (taqiyya). Only those who differ from the mainstream position (i.e., opposing sects) give legal rulings based on such reports.