Women

Menstruation (ḥayḍ) is defined as blood that exists from the uterus of a woman free from disease or pregnancy, after the age of adolescence. Its minimum duration is three days (72 complete hours), while its maximum is ten days (240 complete hours); its average is between the two (approximately five days). If the bleeding is for less than three days, or more than ten days, then it [the excess blood] is not menstruation; rather, it is dysfunctional uterine bleeding (istiḥaḍah).

During the period of menstruation [its maximum ten complete days], any color that is seen, as well as intermittent breaks from bleeding [again, within the possible ten complete days], is considered menstrual blood, [thus] preventing her from praying or fasting. The fasts must be made up [if during Ramaḍān], as opposed to the prayers.

The following things are also unlawful during menstruation:

• Sexual intercourse
• Tawāf (circumambulating the Ka’bah)
• Entering a mosque [even if only to pass through]
• Being touched from [right below] the navel to [right below] the knee
• Reciting the Qur’ān (that is, even a part of a verse, if with the intention of recitation; she is, however, allowed to recite Qur’ānic verses of praise, supplication, or protection, such as Sūrah Al-Fātiḥah or the last three sūrahs, with the intention of praise, supplication, or protection)
• Touching a copy of the Qur’ān, unless with a [non-attached] barrier

If her period ends within ten days [but after the duration of her regular habit], she may not have intercourse except after one of three things:

1. Performing the ghusl (ritual bath)
2. Performing tayammum [if there is a valid excuse], as well as praying [ṣalāḥ] with it [that tayammum], even if a voluntary prayer
3. Missing an obligatory prayer, which occurs her periods end with enough time to at least perform the ghusl and say the taḥrīmah before the prayer time expires; if that occurs, it is permissible to have intercourse with her afterwards [even if she did not perform the ghusl]. If, however, the time between the ending of her period and the expiration of the prayer time is very slight, such that she would not have enough time to take the ghusl [coupled with the taḥrīmah], then she is not considered to have missed an obligatory prayer [and intercourse would remain impermissible].

If her period goes past ten days, it is permissible to have intercourse with her as soon as it passes the tenth day [240 complete hours], due to the certainty [that the menstruation is complete and] that the extra bleeding is dysfunctional uterine bleeding.

The minimum duration of tuhr (the interval of purity between two menstrual cycles, or between a lochial cycle and menstrual cycle) is fifteen [complete] days [360 complete hours], yet it has no maximum duration, except when establishing a standard menstrual habit in a situation of continuous bleeding.

Nifās (postnatal bleeding or lochia) is defined as blood [that exits] after delivery, or after most of the baby has exited, even after miscarriage of a fetus whose body had [some sort of] physical development. Postnatal bleeding has no minimum duration, while its maximum duration is forty days [960 complete hours]. It is from the first of twin (if the woman delivers twins). Its ruling [of postnatal bleeding] is like that of menstruation.

The following cases are considered to by dysfunctional uterine bleeding:

• Any bleeding of a pregnant woman, even [bleeding] during delivery before most of the baby has exited
• Bleeding [after delivery] for more than forty days [the excess blood is dysfunctional uterine bleeding]
• If she bleeds past her normal habit, of either menstruation or postnatal bleeding, and the bleeding exceeds the maximum duration [of either one; in that case, the bleeding after the duration of her habit is considered dysfunctional uterine bleeding]
• Any bleeding of a girl that has not yet reached adolescence

Dysfunctional uterine bleeding (istiḥaḍah) is like a continuous nosebleed [in its legal ruling]; it does not prevent [the permissibility of] fasting, praying, sexual intercourse, or tawāf.

If such bleeding continues for the duration of an entire prayer time, then the woman must perform wuḍū’ at the beginning of each prayer time, just like someone with chronic urinary incontinence, constant diarrhea, constant gas release, or continuous bleeding [from any part of the body].

There are three conditions for people with chronic excuses; the condition of establishing the excuse, the condition of its continuity, and the condition of its termination.

1. The condition of establishing the excuse, as stated above, is for the excuse to continue for the duration of an entire prayer time, such that the person is unable to perform wuḍū’ and the prayer without the occurrence of the excuse. Afterwards, the person is considered chronically excused; therefore, he may pray any amount of obligatory or voluntary prayers, after having performed wuḍū’ with it [the excuse], despite the occurrence of that excuse [after the wuḍū’]. The wuḍū’ [performed in such a state] is invalidated only by the expiration of the prayer time.
2. The condition of continuity of the excuse is its occurrence in every prayer time afterwards, even if only once [within each prayer time]
3. The condition of its termination [whereby one is no longer excused] is for a prayer time to elapse without a single occurrence of the excuse