What are the rulings on menses in women?.
Praise be to Allaah.
There are many rulings to do with menstruation, more than twenty, of
which we will mention those which we think are most essential. They
are:
1 - Prayer
It is haraam for a menstruating woman to pay both obligatory and
naafil prayers, and they are not valid if she does them. She does not
have to do a particular prayer unless she was pure or became pure with
enough time to perform a complete rak'ah, in which case she has to do
the prayer, whether it is at the beginning of the time for it or at
the end. An example of that happening at the beginning of the time for
prayer is a woman who got her menses after the sun set but she had
enough time to perform a complete rak'ah (but she did not do it), so
when she becomes pure she has to make up that Maghrib prayer, because
she had enough time to perform a complete rak'ah before she got her
menses.
An example of that happening at the end of the time for prayer is a
woman whose menses ended before the sun rose and there was enough time
left to perform a complete rak'ah. When she becomes pure she has to
make up that Fajr prayer, because she had enough time to perform one
rak'ah.
But if there is not enough time to perform a rak'ah, such as in the
first scenario, if a woman gets her menses a moment after the sun sets
or, in the second scenario, she becomes pure a moment before the sun
rises, then she does not have to do that prayer, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever catches up
with a rak'ah of prayer has caught up with the prayer." Agreed upon.
With regard to dhikr, takbeer, saying Subhaan-Allaah, praising Allaah,
saying Bismillaah when eating and so on, and reading hadeeth, fiqh and
du'aa's, or saying Ameen to du'aa's, and listening to Qur'aan, none of
these things are forbidden to her. It is proven inal-Saheehaynand
elsewhere that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
used to recline in 'Aa'ishah's lap (may Allaah be pleased with her)
when she was menstruating, and he would recite Qur'aan.
Inal-Saheehaynit is also narrated from Umm 'Atiyyah that she heard the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: "Let the
girls who have attained puberty, women in seclusion and menstruating
women go out - i.e., to the Eid prayer - and witness good and the
gathering of the believers. But let the menstruating women avoid the
prayer place."
With regard to the menstruating woman reading Qur'aan, if she is
looking at it or thinking of it in her heart, without speaking the
words out loud, there is nothing wrong with that, such as if the
Mus-haf is placed there, and she looks at the verses and reads them in
her heart. Al-Nawawi said inSharhMuslim: it is permissible and there
is no difference of scholarly opinion on this point.
But if she is reciting it out loud, the majority of scholars are of
the view that this is not allowed.
Al-Bukhaari, Ibn Jareer, al-Tabari and Ibn al-Mundhir said it is
permissible, and this was also narrated from Maalik and from
al-Shaafa'i in his former view. That was narrated from them inFath
al-Baari. And al-Bukhaari narrated in a mu'allaq report from Ibraheem
al-Nakha'i that there is nothing wrong with her reciting a verse.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said inal-Fataawa: There is no report
saying that she should not read Qur'aan. The hadeeth "No menstruating
woman or person who is junub should recite anything from the Qur'aan"
is a weak hadeeth, according to the consensus of the scholars who are
well-versed in hadeeth. Women used to menstruate at the time of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and if reading was
haraam for them as prayer is, this would have been something that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) explained to his
ummah and the Mothers of the Believers would have known that, and it
would have been something that they told to the people. But since no
one narrated any prohibition concerning that from the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), it is not permissible to regard
it as haraam, since it is known that he did not forbid that, and as he
did not forbid that despite the fact that menstruation was widespread
at his time, it is known that it is not haraam. End quote.
Since we know that there is a difference of opinion among the scholars
concerning this, what should be said is: it is better for a
menstruating woman not to recite Qur'aan out loud except when there is
need for that, such as if she is a teacher and she needs to teach her
students, or in the case of an exam when the student needs to recite
in order to be tested, and so on.
2 - Fasting
It is haraam for a menstruating woman to fast, whether it is an
obligatory or a naafil fast, and it is not valid if she does it. But
she has to make up any obligatory fasts that she misses, because of
the hadeeth of 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) who said:
"That - meaning menses - used to happen to us and we were commanded to
make up fasts but we were not commanded to make up prayers." Agreed
upon.
If a woman gets her menses when she is fasting, her fast becomes
invalid even if that happens just before Maghrib, and she has to make
up that day if it was an obligatory fast.
But if she feels that the period was coming before Maghrib, but no
blood came out until after the sun set, then her fast is complete and
is not invalidated, according to the correct view, because there is no
ruling connected to blood that is still inside the body, and when the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked about a
woman who sees in a dream what a man sees (i.e., an erotic dream),
does she have to do ghusl? He said: "Yes, if she sees water." So the
ruling is connected to seeing water, not feeling body sensations. The
same applies to menses: the rulings do not apply until it is seen
outside the body, not just the body sensations.
If dawn comes when the woman is menstruating, it is not valid for her
to fast that day even if she becomes pure even a moment after dawn.
If she becomes pure just before dawn and fasts, her fast is valid even
if she does not do ghusl until after dawn. This is like the one who is
junub - if he intends to fast when he is junub and dos not do ghusl
until after dawn breaks, his fast is valid, because of the hadeeth of
'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) who said: The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to wake up junub as
the result of intercourse, not a wet dream, and he would fast in
Ramadaan. Agreed upon.
3 - Tawaaf around the Ka'bah
It is haraam for a menstruating woman to circumambulate the Ka'bah,
whether that is obligatory or naafil, and it is not valid if she does
it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said to 'Aa'ishah when she got her menses: "Do everything that the
pilgrims do, but do not circumambulate the House until you become
pure."
As for the other actions of Hajj, such as saa'ee between al-Safa and
al-Marwah, standing at 'Arafah, staying overnight in Muzdalifah and
Mina, stoning the jamaraat and other rituals of Hajj and 'Umrah, they
are not haraam for her. Based on that, if a female does tawaaf when
she is pure, then her period begins immediately after she does tawaaf,
or during sa'ee, there is nothing wrong with that.
4 - Tawaaf al-wadaa' (the farewell tawaaf) is waived in her case
If a female completes the rituals of Hajj and 'Umrah, then she gets
her menses before she goes home and that continues until she leaves,
she may depart without doing the farewell tawaaf, because of the
hadeeth of Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: (the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) told the people
that the last thing they should do was (tawaaf) around the House, but
he made an exception for women who were menstruating . Agreed upon.
But the tawaaf that is required for Hajj and 'Umrah is not waived, and
she must do it when she becomes pure.
5 - Staying in the mosque
It is haraam for the menstruating woman to stay in the mosque and even
in the Eid prayer-place, because of the hadeeth of Umm 'Atiyyah (may
Allaah be pleased with her), who said that she heard the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: "Let the girls who
have attained puberty, women in seclusion and menstruating women go
out - i.e., to the Eid prayer." In this hadeeth it says: "But let the
menstruating women avoid the prayer place." Agreed upon.
6 - Intercourse
It is haraam for her husband to have intercourse with her, and it is
haraam for her to allow him to do so, because Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"They ask you concerning menstruation. Say: that is an Adha (a harmful
thing for a husband to have a sexual intercourse with his wife while
she is having her menses), therefore, keep away from women during
menses and go not unto them till they are purified (from menses and
have taken a bath)"
[al-Baqarah 2:222]
What is meant by maheed (translated here as menstruation) is the time
of menses, and the location of this menses is the private part.
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Do
everything except have intercourse." Narrated by Muslim.
And the Muslims are unanimously agreed that it is haraam to have
intercourse with a menstruating woman in her vagina.
But it is permissible for him to do that which will satisfy his desire
without having intercourse, such as kissing, touching and intimacy
that is less than intercourse, but it is better not to be intimate
with that which is between the navel and the knee except through a
barrier, because 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to tell me to
wear a waist wrapper, then he would be intimate with me when I was
menstruating. Agreed upon.
7 - Divorce
It is haraam for a husband to divorce a menstruating woman during her
menses, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"O Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)! When you
divorce women, divorce them at their 'Iddah (prescribed periods)"
[al-Talaaq 65:1]
and that can only be if they are divorced when they are pregnant or
pure without having had intercourse since the menses ended. Because if
a woman is divorced when she is menstruating she cannot start her
'iddah, because the menstrual period during which she was divorced
cannot be counted as part of the 'iddah; and if she is divorced when
she is pure but has had intercourse since her period ended, she cannot
start her 'iddah, because it cannot be known whether she became
pregnant from this intercourse. So it should be reckoned by her
pregnancy, or if she is not pregnant it should be reckoned by her
menstrual cycle. If it cannot be ascertained what sort of 'iddah it
is, it is haraam for him to divorce her until things become clear.
Divorcing a menstruating woman at the time of her menses is haraam
because of the verse quoted above, and because of the report
inal-Saheehaynand elsewhere from Ibn 'Umar who said that he divorced
his wife when she was menstruating. 'Umar told the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) about that, and the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) got angry and said: "Tell him to
take her back and keep her until she becomes pure, then menstruates,
then becomes pure again. Then if he wishes he may keep her after that,
or if he wishes he may divorce her before he touches (has intercourse
with) her. That is the prescribed period within which Allaah has
enjoined divorce of women."
If a man divorces his wife when she is menstruating, he is sinning and
he has to repent to Allaah and take the woman back in order to divorce
her in the prescribed manner as enjoined by Allaah and His Messenger.
Then he should leave her alone after he takes her back until she
becomes pure from the menses during which he divorced her, then
menstruates again, then when she becomes pure again, if he wishes he
may keep her or if he wishes he may divorce her before having
intercourse with her.
There are three cases where an exception is made from the prohibition
on divorcing a woman during her menses:
1 - If the divorce occurs before he spent time alone with her or
touched her. There is nothing wrong with him divorcing her when she is
menstruating, because in that case she does not have to observe any
'iddah, so this divorce does not go against the words of
Allaah,"divorce them at their 'Iddah (prescribed periods)".
2 - If the menses occurs during pregnancy.
3 - If the divorce takes place in return for some compensation, in
which case there is nothing wrong with divorcing her when she is
menstruating.
There is nothing wrong with doing a marriage contract with a woman who
is menstruating, because the basic principle is that it is
permissible, and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise. But the
idea of the husband entering upon her when she is menstruating is
subject to further discussion. If he can be trusted not to have
intercourse with her, there is nothing wrong with it, otherwise he
should not enter upon her until she becomes pure, for fear of his
doing something that is forbidden.
8 - Reckoning the 'iddah of divorce by means of the menstrual cycle
If a man divorces his wife after having had intercourse with her or
being alone with her, then she has to observe an 'iddah of three
complete menstrual cycles, if she is a woman who menstruates and she
is not pregnant, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And divorced women shall wait (as regards their marriage) for three
menstrual periods"
[al-Baqarah 2:228]
If she is pregnant, her 'iddah lasts until her pregnancy ends, whether
the time is long or short, because Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"And for those who are pregnant (whether they are divorced or their
husbands are dead), their 'Iddah (prescribed period) is until they lay
down their burden"
[al-Talaaq 65:4]
If a woman does not menstruate because she is old or she had had a
hysterectomy, or for some other reason and there is no hope that she
will menstruate again, then her 'iddah is three months, because Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And those of your women as have passed the age of monthly courses,
for them the 'Iddah (prescribed period), if you have doubt (about
their periods), is three months; and for those who have no courses
[(i.e. they are still immature) their 'Iddah (prescribed period) is
three months likewise"
[al-Talaaq 65:4]
If a woman normally menstruates but her menses have ceased for a
reason such as sickness or breastfeeding, then she should observe the
'iddah no matter how long it lasts, until her menses returns and she
can count her 'iddah. If the reason ceases but her periods do not come
back, such as if she recovers from sickness or stops breastfeeding and
still does not menstruate, then she should observe 'iddah for a full
year from the time the reason ceased. This is the correct view which
is based on Islamic principles, because if the reason ceases and her
periods do not come back, she is like one whose periods have stopped
for no apparent reason, and if her periods stop for no apparent reason
then she should observe an 'iddah of one year - nine months for
pregnancy based on the usual length of pregnancy, and three months for
the 'iddah.
*But if the divorce takes place after the marriage contract is done
and before intimacy or being alone together, then there is no 'iddah
at all, whether it is reckoned by the menstrual cycle or otherwise,
because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"O you who believe! When you marry believing women, and then divorce
them before you have sexual intercourse with them, no 'Iddah [divorce
prescribed period, see (V.65:4)] have you to count in respect of them"
[al-Ahzaab 33:49]
9 - Establishing the absence of pregnancy
This is required every time there is a need for a ruling that there is
no pregnancy. There are many issues connected to this.
10 -Requirement of ghusl
When the menstruating woman's period ends, she must do ghusl by
purifying her entire body, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said to Faatimah bint Abu Hubaysh: "When the time
of your menses comes, stop praying, then when it ends, do ghusl and
pray." Narrated by al-Bukhaari.
*The minimum that is required for ghusl is to ensure that water
reaches every part of the body, even beneath the hair. But it is
better if it is done in the manner mentioned in the hadeeth from the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), when Asma' bint
Shakl asked him how a menstruating woman should do ghusl. He (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: One of you should take her
water and lotus leaves and purify herself and purify herself well.
Then she should pour water over her head and rub it vigorously, so
that it reaches the roots of her hair, and pour water over herself.
Then she should take a piece of cloth that is scented with musk and
purify herself with it." Asma' said: "How should she purify herself
with it?" He said: 'Subhaan Allaah, let her purify herself with it."
'Aa'ishah said to her: "She should follow the traces of blood."
Narrated by Muslim.
*She does not have to undo the braids in her hair, unless they are
tied so tightly that she fears that the water will not reach the
roots, because of the hadeeth of Umm Salamah (may Allaah be pleased
with her) that is narrated inSaheeh Muslim, where she asked the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: I am a
woman with braided hair; should I undo it when doing ghusl following
menses or for janaabah? He said: "No, rather it will be sufficient for
you to pour three handfuls of water on your head, then pour water over
yourself and you will be purified."
If a menstruating woman becomes pure during the time for prayer, she
must hasten to do ghusl so that she can offer the prayer on time. If
she is travelling and does not have any water, or she has water but
she is afraid that she may be harmed by using it, or she is sick and
the water will harm her, then she should do tayammum instead of ghusl,
until the reason for not doing it ceases, then she should do ghusl.
Some women become pure at the time for prayer, but they delay ghusl
until later, saying that they cannot purify themselves fully in this
time. But this is no excuse, because they can limit themselves to the
minimum that is required in ghusl and do the prayer on time, then when
they have more time they can purify themselves more fully. End quote.
These are the most important rulings that have to do with menses in women.
Risaalah fi'l-Dima' al-Tabee'iyyah li'l-Nisa'by Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen
(may Allaah have mercy on him).
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