The Fiqh of Menstruation (Shafi’i Fiqh)

Answered according to Shafi'i Fiqh by Qibla.com

The fiqh of menstruation according to Shafi’i Fiqh

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

The Fiqh of Menstruation

(Act According to what you See)

It is Obligatory to Learn the Fiqh of Menstruation

Many women are unfamiliar with the rulings relating to menstruation. The fuqaha mention that these
rulings are personally obligatory for every Muslim woman to know. Whether or not one is in a state of
menstruation is sometimes the dividing line between something obligatory (e.g., if a woman is not
menstruating, it is obligatory for her to pray, fast the month of Ramadan, and allow her husband to have
intercourse with her) and something unlawful (e.g., if a woman is menstruating, it is unlawful (haram) for
her to pray, fast, or allow her husband to have intercourse with her). A woman who does not understand
the fiqh of menstruation thus runs the risk of displeasing Allah by leaving something that is obligatory or
performing something that is unlawful.

This short post summarizes the fiqh of menstruation. Most of this material is not found in
the Reliance or al-Maqasid. Women should read this carefully and ask Questions if there is anything that
they do not understand.

The Cotton Ball Test

Blood does not have to flow or exit in large quantities to be of consequence. If a woman inserts a cotton
ball (or something similar) into her vagina and it comes out stained (either black, red, orange, yellow, or
creamy), she is considered to be bleeding. If it comes out unstained (white), she is considered to be in a
state of non-bleeding.

(Tuhfat al-Muhtaj; Hashiyat al-Sharqawi)

Conditions of Menstruation
A woman who is bleeding (according to the cotton ball test described above) is in a state of menstruation if
three conditions are satisfied:
1. The bleeding must last at least 24 hours. If the bleeding is intermittent, the sum of all intermittent
bleeding periods must add up to at least 24 hours.

2. The period of menstruation must not exceed 15 days, regardless of whether the bleeding is
intermittent or continuous.

3. There must be at least 15 days of purity between two periods of menstruation.

Whenever a woman sees blood that fulfills the above conditions, she must assume that she is in a state of
menstruation. Whenever she stops bleeding, she must assume that her menstruation has stopped. In
certain cases, she might later discover that her initial assumptions were wrong, in which case she would
have to take appropriate corrective measures. The example below illustrates this more clearly.

An Example

Jan 1, 10.00 am: Aisha sees blood coming out of her vagina. More than 15 days of non-bleeding have
elapsed since the last time she saw menstrual blood. It is therefore possible that this blood could be
menstrual blood, since it does not violate any of the conditions of menstruation. Because of this
possibility, Aisha must assume that this is menstrual blood and immediately refrain from everything that a
menstruating woman must refrain from (e.g., she must not perform the prayer (salah), she must not fast,
she must not have intercourse with her husband, she must not recite or touch the Qur’an, etc.).

Jan 1, 6.00 pm: Aisha notices that she may have stopped bleeding. To check, she washes herself of
blood, waits a while, and then inserts a cotton ball into her vagina. The cotton ball comes out
unstained. Once again, she must act according to what she sees and assume that the blood she saw in
the morning was abnormal blood (dam fasad) and not menstruation (because she only bled for 8 hours,
she cannot assume that the blood was menstrual blood, since menstrual blood must last for at least 24
hours, as per condition 1 above). She does not need to take a purificatory bath (ghusl) (since she did not
have a valid menstruation). There is half an hour left before the time for isha enters, so she must pray
maghrib. In addition, she must make up the dhuhr and asr prayers that she missed earlier in the day
because she has now discovered that her earlier assumption was incorrect. She must now act as if she
was not menstruating.

Jan 3, 10 am: Aisha sees blood again. She must assume that she is once again menstruating and avoid
everything that a menstruating woman avoids. She has also discovered that the assumption she made on
Jan 1 at 6.00 p.m. was incorrect: she was actually in a state of menstruation all along, so any prayers or
fasts she performed in that period of non-bleeding were actually invalid.

Jan 4, 10 am: Aisha notices that her blood is not flowing like it was yesterday. She decides to check if
she has once again stopped bleeding. She cleans herself of blood, waits a while, and then inserts a
cotton ball into her vagina. It comes out yellow, so she must still consider herself in a state of
menstruation (according to the more correct (asahh) position in the Shafii school, yellow discharge is
considered menstruation). Nothing has changed.

Jan 5, 10.00 pm : Aisha again thinks that she might have stopped bleeding, and checks by inserting a
cotton ball into her vagina. The cotton ball comes out stained with a non-transparent liquid, almost creamy
in colour. She must still consider herself in a state of menstruation (just like yellow discharge, creamy or
non-transparent (kadir) discharge is also considered menstruation according to the more correct (asahh)
position in the Shafii school). Once again, nothing has changed.

Jan 6, 10.00 am: Aisha performs the cotton ball test again and this time, the cotton ball comes out
unstained. She must act according to what she sees and assume that she has stopped
menstruating. Since she has bled for more than 24 hours (8 hours on Jan 1 from 10.00 am until 6.00 pm
and then another 72 hours from Jan 3, 10.00 am until Jan 6, 10.00 am, making a total of 80 hours), she
must perform a purificatory bath and then start praying again. She must now act like a woman who is not
menstruating.

Jan 10, 10.00 am: Aisha sees blood again. It is possible for this blood to be menstrual blood, since it
does not violate any of the conditions of menstruation. Therefore, she must act according to what she
sees and again assume that she is in a state of menstruation. She has now discovered that the
assumption she made on Jan 6, 10.00 am was incorrect and any prayers or fasts that she performed
during the last 4 days were actually invalid.

Jan 14, 10.00 am: Aisha thinks she has stopped bleeding. To check, she washes herself of blood, waits
a while, and then inserts a cotton ball into her vagina. It comes out unstained, so she must assume that
she has stopped menstruating. She must perform a purificatory bath and start praying again. She must
now do everything that a woman in a state of purity does.

Aisha does not see any more blood until Feb 1. She was in a period of menstruation for 13 days (from
Jan 1 until Jan 14). This was followed by a state of purity for 16 days (from Jan 14 until Feb 1).

Had she seen blood on Jan 15 or on Jan 16 before 10.00 am , she would again have to have assumed
that it was menstrual blood. However, if she had seen blood after Jan 16, 10.00 am, this blood would not
be considered menstrual blood. She would have to apply the rules of chronic vaginal discharge (also
called abnormal uterine bleeding, or AUB for short) to work out her periods of menstruation and purity.

(sources: Tuhfat al-Muhtaj; Hashiyat al-Jamal ala Fath al-Wahhab bi Sharh Manhaj al-Tullab; Fath al-
Allam bi Sharh Murshid al-Anam)

Summary

The rulings of menstruation in the Shafi’i school are very simple. The key rule that women must
remember is: act according to what you see. Note that a woman’s regular cycle (adah) is of no
consequence. She must always act according to what she sees. If blood that she sees does not violate
any of the conditions of menstrual blood, she must assume it is menstruation even if she does not
normally bleed at that time of the month. Likewise, if she stops bleeding, she must assume that she has
stopped bleeding even if she normally bleeds at that time of the month.

Sometimes, women will retroactively discover that their initial assumption was incorrect. In such a case,
they simply take the appropriate measures to “fix” their mistake (e.g. by making up prayers missed
because they thought they were in menstruation).

The rulings of chronic vaginal discharge (istihada), however, are not so simple. These will in-sha’Allah be
dealt with in separate posts.

And Allah knows best

Hamza.

A Case of Menstruation
Answered according to Shafi'i Fiqh by Qibla.com
Answered by Shaykh Hamza Karamali, SunniPath Academy Teacher

If a female bleeds continuously for 6 days, does not bleed on day 7, and then bleeds again on day 8,
should she pray on day 7 if this is the regular pattern of her menstruation? Also if all bleeding stops on day
8 and she does not bleed on days 9-16, and then bleeds again on day 17, is this considered
menstruation? If her regular pattern has a period of continuity at the beginning, no flow, and then bleeding
again intermittently until her next cycle, what should she do in terms of prayer, fasting, etc.?

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

The scenario under consideration is as follows:

Days 1-6: Bleeding

Day 7: No bleeding

Day 8: Bleeding

Days 9-16: No bleeding

Day 17: Bleeding

General Rule: Act according to what you see

First, I encourage you to read a short introduction to the rulings of menstruation:

The Fiqh of Menstruation [see previous answer]

In summary, menstruating women must act according to what they see. Since they cannot foresee the
future, their assumptions may later turn out to be incorrect. If this happens, they take corrective measures
after they discover their mistake.

If we apply the rules outlined in the above article The Fiqh of Menstruation to this case, we obtain the
following.

Days 1-6: You notice bleeding. If you have had 15 days of non-bleeding prior to this, you assume that you
are in your menses.

Day 7: You notice the bleeding has stopped. You assume that your menses have ceased. This means
that you must perform a purificatory bath and then pray the obligatory prayers. If you are in the month of
Ramadan, you must also fast.

Day 8: You notice bleeding again. Looking back to day 7, you now conclude that you were mistaken in
assuming that your menses had ceased. You now cease praying, consider the prayers (and, if you fasted,
the fast) of day 7 as invalid, and assume that you have been in your menses since day 1.

Day 9: You notice the bleeding has stopped. You again assume that your menses have ceased, perform
a purificatory bath, and start performing obligatory prayers and fasts.

Day 17: You notice bleeding again. Unlike the bleeding of day 8, this bleeding cannot be considered
menses because the maximal period of bleeding (whether intermittent or continuous) is 15 days and
therefore this period cannot be added to previous periods of bleeding to create a valid duration of menses.
You therefore assume that this is abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB), and continue to perform your
obligatory prayers and fasts, following the special rulings of someone in a chronic state of annulment of
ritual purity. Any bleeding until day 23 will take this ruling. Any bleeding beyond day 23 will be considered
menses because you will have undergone the minimum 15-day period of purity.

Exceptions to the rule

The rule “act according to what you see” is a general rule, and there are some exceptions. One exception
is when you have a regular period of non-bleeding within your menses. So, for example, if you
regularly bleed from days 1 to 6, regularly do not bleed on day 7, and then regularly bleed again on day 8,
then there is a strong position in the Shafi`i school that permits you to assume that day 7 is part of your
menses even if you do not see blood that day. This is contrary to what Imam Nawawi said in some of his
works, but Shaykh Ibn Hajar al-Haytami classified it as “strong” (wajih) in his commentary on the Minhaj al-
Talibin (Tuhfa, 1.400). Shaykh Amjad told me that he asked his teacher, Shaykh Muhammad al-Khatib,
whether it was permissible to follow this position and he replied in the affirmative.
And Allah knows best.

Hamza.

Menstruation and Prayer

Answered according to Shafi'i Fiqh by Qibla.com
Answered by Shaykh Hamza Karamali, SunniPath Academy Teacher

I have a question about resuming prayers after the end of menstruation. I read a fatwa by Shaykh XYZ
(name omitted) that if a woman ends her menses before sunset, she must perform the zuhr and asr
prayers.

(… long excerpt omitted …)

I thought that a woman should resume her prayers at the time she stops bleeding: for example, if she
stops bleeding during the time of ‘asr, she should pray ‘asr without needing to make up any other prayers
that she missed during the day. I don’t understand why a woman has to pray both zuhr and ‘asr if she
stops bleeding before sunset, but not fajr, for example.

Could you clarify this for me with dalil, please?

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

The Ruling

According to the Shafi’i school, it becomes obligatory for a woman who stops menstruating to perform the
prayer of the time she is in and also the prayer of the previous time if it can be joined with the current
prayer while traveling. This means that (1) a woman who stops menstruating during the time of ‘asr must
pray both ‘asr and zuhr and (2) a woman who stops menstruating during the time of ‘isha must pray both
‘isha and maghrib.

For clarity, the five possibilities are summarized below:

Case 1.Menstruation stops during fajr time:

Performing the fajr prayer becomes obligatory.

Case 2.Menstruation stops during zuhr time:

Performing the zuhr prayer becomes obligatory.

Case 3.Menstruation stops during ‘asr time:

Performing the zuhr and ‘asr prayers becomes obligatory.

Case 4.Menstruation stops during maghrib time:

Performing the maghrib prayer becomes obligatory.

Case 5.Menstruation stops during ‘isha time:

Performing the maghrib and ‘isha prayers becomes obligatory.

The Reasoning

Many scholars mention that the linguistic meaning of the word “fiqh” is “deep understanding” (fahmu ma
daqq). The deep understanding of the fuqaha shines brightest when they go deep into the meanings of
verses and hadiths and extract rulings from them that aren’t explicitly stated anywhere. The rulings
recorded in the books of the four Sunni schools are all a product of this deep understanding. Just because
there isn’t a clear verse or hadith to indicate a ruling mentioned by the fuqaha doesn’t mean that the
rulings are baseless.

In this case, the legal reasoning that the fuqaha use to establish the above ruling is that there is in certain
situations (i.e., when traveling), the time of zuhr extends into the time of ‘asr and one can voluntarily pray
the zuhr prayer during the time of ‘asr. This is established by various hadith evidences. In the case of a
woman who stops menstruating during ‘asr time, the time of ‘asr must a fortiori be a time for zuhr because
she was forced to delay zuhr until the time of ‘asr (waqtu’l-‘asri waqtun li’l-zuhr halata’l-‘udhr fa halata’l-
darurati awla). [1] The same applies for maghrib and ‘isha.

(source: al-Hawashi al-Madaniyya, 1.208)

And Allah knows best.

Hamza.

[1] There may also be more explicit hadith evidence to indicate this ruling. If so, I don’t know what it is.

Answered by Habib Umar bin Hafiz

Question: Assalam aleykum
A women became pure from her monthly cycle. She made up her Dhuhr
prayer first (qada). While she was still making up her Dhuhr, Maghrib time
came in. What is the ruling on that?
Answer: [Assalam alaykum]

There will be no sin on her. She should make up Asr afte r she prays
Maghrib.
This is an important issue. If a woman becomes pure at Asr time, even if
it’s towards the end of Asr time, it becomes necessary (wajib) for her to
make up Zuhr as well as pray Asr. Likewise, if she becomes pure at the end
of Isha time, making up Maghrib also becomes wajib. This is because Zuhr
and Asr are considered connected, and Maghrib and Isha are also
considered connected as they both can be combined with each other at
times.
Because of this, if a woman reaches purity towards the e nd of Asr time, she
should pray Asr as well as make up Dhuhr. If she reaches purity towards
the end of Isha time she should perform Isha as well as make up Maghrib.
This sister in question was making up Zuhr when Maghrib time came in.
Therefore she should make up Asr after she prays Maghrib.
However what is better in any similar scenario when time is tight is that she
should first pray the prayer of the current prayer time. In this case she
should have prayed Asr first and then she should have made up Dhuhr after
Maghrib.
Habib Umar bin Hafiz is a descendant of the Prophet (upon him be Allah’s
peace and blessings). Born into a family of scholars, Habib Umar, pursued
the sacred sciences from a young age, including Quran, Hadith, Fiqh,
‘Aqeedah, Arabic, and Spirituality. In 1994, he established Dar al-Mustafa,
an educational institute in Tarim, Yemem.
Link to the original answer
Translator: Areeba B

Resuming Prayer after Menstruation

Answered according to Shafi'i Fiqh by Qibla.com
Answered by Shaykh Hamza Karamali, SunniPath Academy Teacher

What color need the discharge be before a woman can resume praying after the monthly cycle? If it’s still
brown even though it’s a little can one pray?

Answer:

Wa alaykum Assalam wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu,

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

The strongest position in the Shafi’i school is that a woman may not resume praying until her discharge is
white or clear, such that were she to insert a cotton ball into her vagina, it would come out unstained. If the
discharge is brown or yellow, or some colour between yellow and white (such that it stains a cotton ball),
the blood is still considered menstrual blood.

This assumes that the discharge does not last longer than 15 days. If it does, then the woman is in a state
of abnormal uterine bleeding, and different rules apply.

Please don’t hesitate to ask further questions if something is unclear.

And Allah knows best.

Hamza

Do I make up isha after my period?

Answered according to Shafi'i Fiqh by Qibla.com
Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

I normally have my period for four days. On the fourth day I normally bleed at night but am clean the next
day. If I refrained from prayers of `isha and tarawih thinking that previously this is how my cycle works, but
the next day I find that I was wrong should I make up those prayers I missed?

Answer:

If you woke up on the fifth day and realized that your period ended the night before, then it is obligatory for
you to make up your isha prayer and sunna to make up your tarawih prayers.

It is wrong to act according to your previous cycle. If your period is the same every month, you still can not
act according to habit and just stop praying. You must act according to what you see. This means that you
must physically check to see if your period has ended, not merely assume that it is over. One my teachers
recommends that ladies check if their periods are over about a half hour before the end of the prayer’ s
time. This way, they have sufficient time to make a ghusl and pray.

And Allah knows best.

Shazia