Q & A on menstruation and post-partum bleeding –I

Using pills that prevent menstruation
Shaykh Ibn Baaz
Question: There are pills that prevent menses or delay their
occurrence. Is it allowed for a woman to use such pills during the
time of Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) only out of fear of her menses
arriving?
Response: It is allowed for a woman to use pills that prevent her
menses during the time of Hajj out of fear that her menses may come.
But this should only be done after she has consulted with a (health)
specialist who canensure that her health will be fine. Similarly, she
may do the same during Ramadhaan if she desires to fast with the
people. (1)
The Standing Committee
Footnotes
(1) There seems to be no need forwomen to go to such lengths. This
could probably be considered a kind of overzealousness. There is no
real certainty as to the health risks of such pills as well as birth
control pills. Furthermore, the menses are a natural matter that
Allaah has ordained for women and there is no need to flee from them.
Hence, it must be considered best for women to abstain from such pills
since there is no necessity for them and they (women) cannot be
certain of their side effects. Allaah knows best
Discontinuation of bleeding during menses
Question: Sometimes, during my menses, I have blood for four days and
then the bleeding stops for three days. Then, on the seventh day the
bleeding returns,but with less intensity. Then, the bleeding turns to
a brown colour until the twelfth day. I hope you will guide me to what
is correct in this matter.
Response: The days that you mentioned, the four and the six day
periods (i.e., the first to the fourth day, and then the seventh to
twelfth day), are days of menstruation. You should not pray or fast
during those days. It is not allowed for your husband to have sexual
intercourse with you during those days either. Youshould make Ghusl
(ritual bathing) after the first four days and then pray, and your
husband may have intercourse with you during the period between the
fourth and the sixth days. Also, there is no prohibition upon
yourfasting during these days.
If that occurs during Ramadhaan,it is obligatory upon you to fast on
the days that you are not on your menses. When you become pure after
the second six days (i.e., the seventh to twelfth days),you must make
Ghusl, pray and fast like any other time of purity. This is because
the monthly menses can increase or decrease. Its days are sometimes
together and sometimes separated. May Allaah guide us all to what
pleases Him. May He provide us, you and all the Muslims with
understanding and steadfastnessin the religion.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz
Footnotes
(1) In response to this question, the Shaykh has basically given
theHanbali view of the question. There are some other views which may
be more significant that state the entire period is that of
menstruation (i.e., the full12 days in this case). Allaah knows best
Drops of blood after making Ghusl
Question: I notice that sometimesafter making the Ghusl that follows
my monthly menses, after having had my period for the normal five
days, I have a verysmall number of drops (of blood) emerging. This
occurs immediately after I make Ghusl. After that, nothing else
emerges. I do not know what to do. ShouldI follow my normal five-day
period and simply ignore what occurs after that and continue to pray
and fast? Or should I consider that day also as part of my period and
not pray or fast during it? Note that such a thing does not always
occur to me, butonly occurs every two or three monthly cycles. I hope
you will benefit me on this matter.
Response: If what emerges after your washing is either yellow or
brown, then it is not to be taken into consideration (as menses) and
it takes the same ruling as urine .(1)
However, if it is clearly blood, it will then be considered part of
the menses and you must repeat the Ghusl due to what is confirmed from
Umm 'Atiyyah who was a female companion of the Messenger of Allaah who
stated: "We would not consider yellowish or brownish discharge as
anything (2) after we had been purified [from menses]." (3)
Shaykh Ibn Baaz
Footnotes
1. Meaning, it must be washed offthe clothing and the person mustmake
ablution from such a discharge.
2. That is: "We would not consider it as menses."
3. Recorded by Al-Bukhaari
If a woman ends her menses before sunset, she must perform the Thuhr
and 'Asr Prayers
Question: When a menstruating woman becomes pure before sunrise, is it
obligatory upon her to perform the Maghrib and 'Ishaa' prayers?
Similarly, if she becomes pure before sunset, is it obligatory upon
her to perform the Thuhr and 'Asr prayers?
Response: If a menstruating or post-partum bleeding woman becomes pure
before sunset, it is obligatory upon her to perform both the Thuhr and
'Asr prayers, according to the strongest opinion among the scholars.
Similar is the case if she becomes pure before dawn. In that case, she
must perform the Maghrib and 'Ishaa' prayers. This has beennarrated
from Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn 'Awf and 'Abdullaah Ibn 'Abbaas . This is the
opinion of the majority of the scholars. Similarly, if a menstruating
or post-partum bleeding woman becomes pure before sunrise, it
isobligatory upon her to perform the Fajr (dawn) prayer. And from
Allaah is guidance.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz
The menstruating woman keeping herself clean from urine
Question: When I am menstruating, I do not clean myself of urine with
water because I fear that the water mayharm me. What is the ruling
concerning that?
Response: It suffices, in place of water, to clean yourself with clean
tissue paper or any other pure solid object that will removethe impure
substance, such as a large stone, a piece of wood, or similar objects.
This wiping should be done three times or more, until the impure
substanceis removed. This ruling is not just for you or anyone in a
case like yours; rather, it is for all Muslim men and women under all
circumstances. This is based on what has been confirmed from 'Aa'ishah
that the Prophet said: "When one of you goes to relieve himself, he
should clean himself with three stones, and that will be sufficient
for him." [Ahmad & Others]
It is also confirmed from SalmaanAl-Faarisi that it was said to him:
"Your Prophet teaches you everything, even how to go to the lavatory."
Salmaan replied: "Certainly! He prohibited us from facing the Qiblah
(direction of the Ka'bah) while defecating or urinating, from cleaning
our genitals with our right hand, from cleaning ourselves with less
than three stones and from cleaning ourselves with dung or bone."
[Muslim, Abu Daawood & At-Tirmithi]

The covenant between the Prophet and the Jews

Soon after emigrating to Al-Madeenah and makingsure that the pillars
of the new Islamic community were well established on strong bases of
administrative, political and ideological unity, the Prophet embarked
upon the task of establishing regular and clearly-defined relations
with the non-Muslims there, who comprised of Jews and Arab tribes. All
of these efforts were exerted solely to provide peace, security, and
prosperity to all mankind at large, and to bring about a spirit of
rapport and harmony within his region in particular.
The Prophet was also keen on establishing friendly relations between
the Muslims andnon-Muslims. He was verymeticulous in not leavingany
area in the charter that would allow pre-Islamic traditions to slip in
or violate the new environment he wanted to establish.
Geographically, the nearest people to Al-Madeenah were the Jews.
Despite harbouringevil intentions and nursing a bitter grudge, they
showed neither the least resistance nor the slightest animosity. The
Prophet decided to ratify a treaty with them with clauses that
provided full freedom in faith and wealth. He had no intention
whatsoever of following severe policies involving banishment, seizure
of wealth and land, or hostility.
Included in the treaty were a number of terms and conditions. The
maincondition being that, in case of an attack on Al-Madeenah launched
byoutsiders, the people of Al-Madeenah as a whole would raise arms,
collectively, against the enemies. Another condition being that the
Jews of Al-Madeenah would not provide refuge to the Quraysh of Makkah
or their allies. None of the citizens of Al-Madeenah would put any
hurdle in the way of anyone else's religion, life or property. If two
people of Al-Madeenah had a falling-out on an issue and were not able
to find any solution to it by themselves, they would have to abide by
the decision made by the Prophet concerning it. The Muslims of
Al-Madeenah would be considered as friends of the Jews, and they (the
Jews) would therefore have to treat as friends those tribes and clans
who were in alliance with the Muslims. All kinds of fighting and
bloodshed would be treated as prohibited in the territory of
Al-Madeenah.
The most important provisions of the treaty were as follows:
1. The Jews of the tribe of 'Awf were to be one community with
the believers. The Jews would profess their religion and the Muslims
theirs.
2. The Jews would be responsible for their expenditure, and the
Muslims for theirs.
3. If attacked by a third party, each would come to the
assistance of the other.
4. Each party would hold counsel with the other. Mutual
relations would be founded on righteousness; sin was totally excluded.
5. Neither group would commit sins to the prejudice of the other.
6. The wronged partywould be aided.
7. The Jews would contribute to the cost of any war, so long as
they were fighting alongside the believers.
8. Al-Madeenah would remain sacred andinviolable for all who
would join this treaty.
9. If any disagreement were to arise between the signatories of
this treaty, then Allah the All-High and His Messenger would settle
the dispute.
10. The signatories to this treaty would boycott Quraysh
commercially; they would also abstain from extending any support to
them.
11. Each would contribute to defending Al-Madeenah, in case of
aforeign attack, in its respective area.
12. This treaty would not hinder either party from seeking lawful revenge.
After the agreement wasfinalised, the Prophet made an all-out effort
to bring the clans around Al-Madeenah into the fold of this pact so
that all disruptions, disorder and bloodshed were curbed once and for
all. The Prophet was so eager to widen the scopeof this pact that he
made a special journey to premises of Dhamrah bin Bakr bin 'Abd Manaaf
to bring them around to this recently signed pact. He won over their
chief, 'Amr bin Makhshi, to the idea and he put his initials on the
document. He also got the people of Mount Buwat and of Thul-'Ushayrah
in Yanbu' and Banu Mudlij to accept the peace treaty. The purpose of
the Prophet in constructing this peace pact was to create an
atmosphere of peace andorder so that the people could be at peace and
be able to reflect on the message of Islam in an air of safety and
security. These peace efforts were yet to bring fruit when clandestine
activities in Al-Madeenah and onslaughts from outside plunged
Al-Madeenah into disorder once again.
Al-Madeenah and its suburbs, after the ratification of this treaty,
turned into a coalition state, with Al-Madeenah proper as capital and
Muhammad as de facto president; authorityrested primarily in the hands
of the Muslims, and consequently it was a real capital of Islam.
The peace pact made all the people of Al-Madeenah recognise the
strength and supremacy of Islam and they all signed it, signifying
their acceptance of the superiority of the Muslims.

Dought & clear, - Is it obligatory to obey a ruler who does not rule according to theBook of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger(blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him)?.

Is it obligatory to obey a ruler who does not rule according to the
Book ofAllaah and the Sunnah ofHis Messenger (blessings and peace of
Allaah be upon him)?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The ruler who does not rule according to the Book of Allaah and the
Sunnah of His Messengershould be obeyed in matters that do not involve
disobedience towards Allaah and His Messenger, and it is not
obligatory to fight him because of that; rather itis not permissible
to do so unless he reaches the level of kufr, in which case it becomes
obligatory to oppose him and he has no right to be obeyed by the
Muslims.
Ruling according to anything other than thatwhich is in the Book of
Allaah and the Sunnah ofHis Messenger reaches the level of kufr when
two conditions are met:
1. When he knows the ruling of Allaah and His Messenger; if he is
unaware of it, then he does not commit kufr by going against it.
2. When what makes him rule by something other than that which
Allaah has revealed is the belief that it is a ruling that is not
suitable for our time andthat something else is more suitable than it
and more beneficial for people.
If these two conditions are met, then ruling by something other than
that which Allaah has revealed constitutes kufrwhich puts a person
beyond the pale of Islam, because Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning): "And whosoever does not judge by what Allaah hasrevealed,
such are the Kaafiroon (i.e. disbelievers)" [al-Maa'idah 5:44]. The
authority of the ruler becomes invalid and he has no right to be
obeyed by the people; it becomes obligatory to fight him and remove
him from power.
But if he rules by something other than that which Allaah has revealed
whilst believing that ruling by that – i.e. that which Allaah has
revealed -- is what is obligatory, and that it is more suitable for
the people, but he goes against it because of some whims and desires
on his part or because he wants to wrong the people underhis rule,
then he is not a kaafir; rather he is a faasiq (evildoer) or a zaalim
(wrongdoer). His authority remains, and obeying him in matters that do
not involve disobedience to Allaah and His Messenger is obligatory,
and it is not permissible to fight him or remove him from power by
force or to rebel against him, because the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allaah be upon him) forbade rebelling against rulers unless
we see blatant kufr for which we have proof from Allaah. End quote.
Majmoo' Fataawa Ibn 'Uthaymeen (2/118)

Dought & clear, - Can ahaad hadeeths be accepted with regardto ‘aqeedah?.

I heard someone say that 'aqeedah cannot be proven by means of ahaad
hadeeths, because they are based on probability and not based on
certainty. Whatis your response to that?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Our response to the one who thinks that 'aqeedah cannot be proven on
the basis of ahaad hadeeths becausethey are based on probability or
speculation and 'aqeedah cannot be based on speculations is:This
opinion is not correct, because it is based on something thatis not
correct. That is for a number of reasons:
1. The idea that ahaad hadeeths are based on probability or
speculation does not apply in all cases; there are some ahaad hadeeths
that are based on certainty if there is corroborated evidence to
confirm them, such as if the ummah accepted them. An example is the
hadeeth of 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with him),
"Actions are but by intentions…" It is an ahaad hadeeth, but despite
that we know that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said it. This is what was confirmed by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah, al-Haafiz ibn Hajar and others.
2. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to
send individuals with basic teachings of 'aqeedah - testimony that
there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah
- and the fact that he sent them is binding proof. For example, he
sent Mu'aadh to Yemen, and the fact that he sent him is regarded as
binding proof for the people of Yemen that they were obliged to accept
him.
3. If we say that matters of 'aqeedah cannot be proven on thebasis
of ahaad reports, then it is possible to say that practical rulings
cannot be proven on thebasis of ahaad reports, because practical
rulingsare accompanied by the belief that Allah enjoined this and
forbade that. If this opinion is accepted, then many of the rulingsof
sharee'ah would be rendered invalid. If this idea is rejected then the
idea that 'aqeedah cannot be proven on thebasis of ahaad reports
should also be rejected, because there is no difference between the
two, as we have explained.
To sum up: If an ahaad report is supported by corroborating evidence
which indicates that this is true, then it becomes part of knowledge
and rulings of practice and belief may be established. There is
nothing to indicate that there should be any differentiation between
the two. Any person whosuggests that any of the imams differentiated
between them has to prove that with a sound chain of narration from
that imam, then he has to explain his evidence.
4. Allah, may He be exalted, has enjoined referring to the people
of knowledge for the one who is unaware of what is one of the most
important issues of 'aqeedah, which is Prophethood. Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"And We sent not (as OurMessengers) before you (O Muhammad) any but
men, whom We sent Revelation, (to preach and invite mankind to believe
in the Oneness ofAllaah). So ask (you, O pagans of Makkah) of those
who know the Scripture [learned men of the Taurat (Torah) and the
Injeel (Gospel)], if you know not.
44. With clear signs and Books (We sent the Messengers)"
[al-Nahl 16:43, 44]
This includes asking one or many. End quote.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him)
Fataawa al-'Aqeedah, p. 18.