, - Menstruation and Post-Natal bleeding, - Dought& clear, - * Whenmenstrual bleeding is ongoing in one who has just started herperiods

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There is a girl who is sixteen years old. She reached puberty on the first day of Ramadan (i.e., got her first period), and the bleeding continued without stopping until the end of the month, so she did not fast for the entire month. What must she do?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
If a woman’s bleeding continues for most of the month, then she is mustahaadah (suffering from istihaadah or non-menstrual bleeding). If that happens the first time she menstruates, then she has no previous cycle to refer to. Rather, in the following month she should distinguish between menstrual blood and the blood of istihaadah by noting the well-known signs, namely colour, odour, heaviness or lightness of flow, clotting, and the presence or absence of pain (cramps). Menstrual blood is black or dark, has an unpleasant odour, is usually accompanied by pain, and is heavier than the blood of istihaadah. Menstrual blood does not clot after it comes out, unlike the blood of istihaadah. If her blood may be identified in this manner, then whatever matches the characteristics of menstrual blood is menses, and at that time she should refrain from praying and fasting, and she should do ghusl when it stops; blood of the other type is istihaadah.
If her bleeding is all the same, or it is inconsistent, and she cannot distinguish between menses and istihaadah, then she should follow the cycle of most women, i.e., she should assume that her menses lasts for six or seven days of each month, starting from the first time she saw the blood; any bleeding other than that is istihaadah. If she does not know when the bleeding started, she may start counting from the first day of the (hijri) month.
Among the reports that speak of distinguishing between types of blood is that which was narrated by an-Nasaa’i (215) and Abu Dawood (304) from Faatimah bint Abi Hubaysh, which says that she was suffering from istihaadah and the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to her: “When it is menstrual blood it is dark and recognizable, so when it is like that, then stop praying, and when it is otherwise, do wudoo’ and pray, for that is from a vein.”
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh an-Nasaa’i.
Another report about the woman experiencing istihaadah refraining from prayer and fasting for six or seven days – if she did not have a regular cycle before and cannot distinguish between types of blood – is that which was narrated by at-Tirmidhi (128) and Abu Dawood (287) from Hamnah bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) who said: O Messenger of Allah, I suffer from istihaadah, bleeding heavily. What do you instruct me to do? For it is keeping me from fasting and praying. He said: “That is only a kick from the shaytaan, so count your menses as six or seven days, which is something known to Allah, then wash yourself and when you see that you have become pure and it is over, then pray for twenty-four or twenty-three days, and fast and pray. That will suffice you, so do what other women do with regard to their menses and purification.”
At-Tirmidhi said: I asked Muhammad [i.e., Imam al-Bukhaari] about this hadeeth and he said: It is a hasan saheeh hadeeth. Ahmad ibn Hanbal said likewise: It is a hasan saheeh hadeeth.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: To sum up, a woman who experiences istihaadah the first time she has a period should proceed by distinguishing between types of bleeding. If she cannot do that, then she should base her actions on the usual cycle of women: so she should refrain from praying and so on for six or seven days starting from the time when she first saw blood. If she has forgotten when she saw it, then she should start counting from the first day of each lunar month. We have stated previously that the most correct opinion is that she should follow the cycle of her female relatives.
End quote fromash-Sharh al-Mumti‘(1/490).
He (may Allah have mercy on him) also said: The correct view concerning the one who has just started her periods is that her bleeding is menstrual bleeding so long as it does not last for most of the month. When the bleeding begins, the one who has just started her periods should refrain from praying and so on until she becomes pure (i.e., the bleeding ceases) or fifteen days have passed. The evidence for that is the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):“They ask you concerning menstruation. Say: that is an Adha (a harmful thing)” [al-Baqarah 2:222]. So when this bleeding – which is a harmful thing – begins, that is menses, whether the amount is small or great. So how can it be said: refrain from fasting and praying for one day and one night, then do ghusl and pray, then do ghusl again when it stops, and make up the fasts?
What that means is that we are obliging her to do the acts of worship twice and to do ghusl twice; Islam does not prescribe such a ruling. Acts of worship are to be done once, not more than that.
If the bleeding of the one who has just started her periods continues most of the time, then in that case she is experiencing istihaadah and should distinguish between types of blood. If she is not able to distinguish between types of blood, then she should follow the most common menstrual cycle, or the menstrual cycle of her female relatives. This is the correct view.
End quote fromash-Sharh al-Mumti‘(1/49).
Secondly:
She has to make up the Ramadan that she did not fast, because the woman who menstruates must make up the fasts, and the woman who is suffering istihaadah is obliged to fast, and it is not permissible for her not to fast. Therefore her days are either menses or istihaadah, and she is obliged to make up the fast in both cases.
With regard to prayer, then to be on the safe side she should make up the days when it is determined that she was not menstruating. If she was able to distinguish between types of blood, then she must make up the prayers of the days on which the blood was red and was not the (darker) blood of menses.
If she was not able to distinguish between types of blood, then she should make up anything more than fifteen days, because that is the maximum length of menses according to the majority of scholars.
This is what she should do in order to be on the safe side, even though she is not obliged to make up the prayers because she refrained from praying on the grounds that she thought that she was menstruating.
And Allah knows best.

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, - Menstruation and Post-Natal bleeding, - Dought& clear, - * She took birth control pills and her periods stopped; should she pray and fast?

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The use of birth control pills can cause a women to stop having her monthly periods/menstruation all together till she stops using the pills. In such circumstances what is the ruling for her on praying and fasting? Does she continue praying without any breaks? The sister is taking the pills for a legitimate reason and not because she doesnt like menstruation.
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
There is nothing wrong with using contraceptives when there is a need to do so, if that is with the permission of the husband and under medical supervision. For more information, please see the answer to questions no. 32479and 21169.
Secondly:
If the monthly periods have stopped because of taking those pills or for some other reason, the woman is deemed to be in a state of purity, so she can do everything that women who are in a state of purity do, such as fasting, praying, and sitting in the mosque, because all of these things are only disallowed because of the menstrual blood. If she is not bleeding, then the prohibition does not apply and she may do whatever women who are in a state of purity do. This is indicated by the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to the woman who was suffering from istihaadah (irregular, non-menstrual bleeding): “If it is menstrual blood, it is dark and recognisable; when it is like that, then refrain from praying, and when it is the other type, then do wudoo’ and pray.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (304); classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani
It says inal-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah(18/327): The Hanbalis clearly stated that it is permissible for a woman to take permissible kinds of medicine in order to stop menses, if it is free of harmful effects; that is subject to the husband's permission, because he has a right to have a child. Maalik regarded it as makrooh, lest the woman cause harm to her body by doing that. … If the woman takes medicine and her periods stop, then she is deemed to be in a state of purity. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If she takes something to prevent menses, and she does not have a period, then she should carry on praying and fasting, and not break the fast and make it up later, because she is not menstruating. The ruling is connected to the reason. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, 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 have purified (from menses and have taken a bath). And when they have purified themselves, then go in unto them as Allah has ordained for you (go in unto them in any manner as long as it is in their vagina). Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves (by taking a bath and cleaning and washing thoroughly their private parts, bodies, for their prayers, etc.)”
[al-Baqarah 2:222].
When this harmful thing is present, the rulings on it are applicable; when it is not present, the rulings are not applicable.
End quote fromMajmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 19/260
And Allah knows best.

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, - Menstruation and Post-Natal bleeding, - Dought& clear, - * She saw a brownish discharge on the day after her had periodended and she had done ghusl, and she did not pay any attention to it, then she did another ghusl, and nowshe is not sure whether her ghusl and prayer were valid

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During the month of Ramadan, I got my monthly period, which lasted for five days. At dawn on the sixth day, I did ghusl so that I could fast. That was on September 30. I do not remember whether I saw the tuhr (white discharge signalling the end of menses) or not, because I was thinking so much that I forgot. What matters is that at 8 o’clock in the morning I did wudoo’ so that I could pray Duha, and I saw a light reddish-brown colour. I thought that it was the brownish discharge because I have read something about its description, and I did not pay any further attention to it, and I completed the fast of that day. Please note that I did not see anything else after that, and the following day was ‘Eid. I did ghusl for ‘Eid as usual, without any intention of purification. My question is:
If I was still impure on that day, then is the ghusl I did on the day of ‘Eid valid, or were my prayer, fasting and other acts of worship in the months of Shawwaal invalid, until the menses of Dhu’l-Qa‘dah came?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The end of menses is known by one of two signs. The first is cessation of bleeding and drying up of the place, such that if a woman were to insert a piece of cotton and the like, it will come out clean with no trace of blood or yellowish or brownish discharge on it. The second sign is passing of the white discharge; some women do not see this discharge.
Secondly:
Passing of brownish or yellowish discharge after purification or end of the menses is not regarded as menses, so your fast is valid, because Umm ‘Atiyyah said: “We did not regard brownish or yellowish discharge after the period ended as being anything that mattered.”
Narrated by Abu Dawood (307); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh Abi Dawood. For more information please see the answer to question no. 50059
Thirdly:
The fact that the questioner did ghusl and fasted on the basis that she had become pure following the end of her menses, and the fact that she forgot that, should be paid no heed, on the basis that this is what you are certain about, and so as to close the door to waswaas (whispers from the Shaytaan).
Fourthly:
If we assume that you had been too hasty in doing ghusl and fasting, and that on that day you had not yet become pure, then you did ghusl for ‘Eid after your menses finished, but with the intention of doing ghusl for Eid, not for the end of menses, then your purification is also valid, in sha Allah, and you do not have to repeat the purification or the prayer. This is the view of the Hanbalis and this is what will make things easier for you, especially in a situation such as yours, so as to ward off waswaas and doubts concerning purification.
It says inMataalib Ooli an-Nuha(1/111):
Whoever intends to do a Sunnah ghusl – such as ghusl for Jumu‘ah or Eid – it is valid as an obligatory ghusl, if he had forgotten (about the obligatory ghusl), to remove impurity that made ghusl obligatory. End quote.
Al-Hajjaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said inZaad al-Mustaqni‘: If he intended to do a Sunnah ghusl, that is valid as an obligatory ghusl. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
An example is if a person does ghusl after washing a deceased person (prior to burial), or he does ghusl for ihram, or to stand in ‘Arafah. These ghusls are Sunnah. The same applies to ghusl for Jumu‘ah, according to the majority of scholars.
What the words of the author [al-Hajjaawi] appear to mean – which is also our view – is: if he remembers that he has to do an obligatory ghusl. Some of our companions limited that to the case where he forgets that he is impure or junub. If he had not forgotten, then (the obligatory ghusl) is not waived, because the Sunnah ghusl is not done to remove impurity of janaabah, and if this is the case, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Actions are but by intentions”, and this man did not intend to do anything but a Sunnah ghusl, but he was aware that he was in a state of janaabah and remembered that, so how can the impurity have been removed?
This view – which limits this ruling to cases where the person has forgotten – makes a valid point.
The reasoning of the madhhab is that because the Sunnah ghusl is a prescribed means of purification, it does remove the impurity )of janaabah). But this argument is problematic, because it is undoubtedly a ghusl that is prescribed in sharee‘ah, but it is of lesser status than obligatory ghusl in the case of janaabah, so how can a Sunnah action be so strong that it can take the place of something that is obligatory and of a higher standing?
But if he had forgotten, then he is excused. For example, if a person does ghusl for Jumu‘ah on the basis that it is Sunnah, but he was in a state of janaabah, but he did not remember, or he was not aware of being in a state of janaabah until after the prayer, such as if he had a wet dream but did not realise until after the prayer, then his Jumu‘ah prayer is valid because the janaabah had been removed.
But if he knew about it and intended this ghusl to be Sunnah only, then the view that it is still valid (to remove janaabah) is something questionable.
End quote fromash-Sharh al-Mumti‘(1/201)
From the shaykh’s words it is clear that ignorance of what makes ghusl obligatory comes under the same ruling as forgetting, so his purification by means of a mustahabb ghusl is valid.
And Allah knows best.

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, - Menstruation and Post-Natal bleeding, - Dought& clear, - * Her foetus died after 66 days gestation and was miscarriedafter 100 days. Is her bleedingnifaas?

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The foetus died at the age of 66 days, but remained in my uterus for 35 days after that, then was miscarried. During that time, I was bleeding and I did not pray. Now, after the miscarriage, do I have to pray or should I wait until I become pure (i.e., the bleeding ends)? Should I make up the prayers that I missed or not?
Praise be to Allah.
If a woman miscarries her foetus and human features can clearly be seen in it, then the bleeding she experiences is nifaas. If human features are not clearly seen in it, then it is istihaadah (non-menstrual bleeding), and she may fast and should carry on praying in that case.
Human features can only appear in the mudghah stage, because Allah, may He be glorified, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O mankind! If you are in doubt about the Resurrection, then verily! We have created you (i.e. Adam) from dust, then from a Nutfah (mixed drops of male and female sexual discharge i.e. offspring of Adam), then from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood) then from a little lump of flesh, some formed and some unformed (miscarriage), that We may make (it) clear to you (i.e. to show you Our Power and Ability to do what We will)”
[al-Hajj 22:5].
Allah, may He be glorified, describes the mudghah as “formed” or “unformed”.
What is meant by being formed is that there appear in the embryo or foetus signs of the developing body such as the head, limbs, and so on.
This “formation” of the embryo or foetus begins after eighty days, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The creation of any one of you is put together in his mother’s womb for forty days, then he becomes a ‘alaqah (a piece of thick coagulated blood) for a similar period, then he becomes like a chewed piece of flesh (mudghah) for a similar period, then Allaah sends an angel who is enjoined to write down four things, and it is said to him: ‘Write down his deeds, his provision, his lifespan and whether he is doomed for Hell or destined for Paradise. Then the soul is breathed into him.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3208).
This hadeeth indicates that the foetus passes through several stages: forty days as a nutfah (sperm drop), then forty more days as a ‘alaqah (a piece of thick coagulated blood), then a further forty days as a mudghah (chewed piece of flesh). Then the soul is breathed into him after one hundred and twenty days.
So long as the foetus died after sixty-six days of pregnancy, then it was not formed and the bleeding that occurred as a result is istihaadah, not nifaas. So you should not stop praying because of that.
With regard to making up the prayers that you missed on the basis that you thought this bleeding was nifaas, then to be on the safe side you should make up the prayers that you missed. This is the view of the majority of scholars. However some of them are of the view that if a woman does not pray because she did not know and thought that prayer was waived in her case, then she finds out that (the bleeding) is istihaadah, then she does not have to make them up.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Based on that, if a person does not purify himself as he is obliged to because the text did not reach him, such as if he eats camel meat and does not do wudoo’ after that, then the text reaches him and it becomes clear to him that wudoo’ is required in this case, or he prays in the camel pens, then the text reaches him and the ruling becomes clear to him, does he have to repeat his past prayers? There are two scholarly opinions, both of which were narrated from Ahmad.
A similar case is if he touches his penis then prays, then it becomes clear to him that it is obligatory to do wudoo’ after touching one’s penis.
The correct view in all these cases is that he does not have to repeat the prayers, because Allah pardons things done by mistake or because of forgetting, and because He says (interpretation of the meaning): “And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning)” [al-Isra’ 17:15].
If the command of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) concerning a particular matter did not reach a person, then the ruling that it is obligatory was not proven in his case. Hence in the case of ‘Umar and ‘Ammaar, when they became junub and ‘Umar did not pray whilst ‘Ammaar did pray after rolling in the dust, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not instruct either of them to repeat the prayer. Similarly, he did not instruct Abu Dharr to repeat the prayer when he used to become junub and remained for several days without praying. And he did not instruct the Companion who ate until he could clearly distinguish the white thread from the black thread to make up the fast. And he did not instruct those who prayed facing towards Jerusalem before news reached them that this ruling (of facing Jerusalem when praying) had been abrogated to make up those prayers.
A similar case is that of the woman who was suffering from istihaadah (irregular, non-menstrual bleeding) and did not pray for a while because she thought that prayer was not obligatory in her case. There are two scholarly views as to whether she is obliged to make up the prayers. The first view is that she is not required to do so – as was narrated from Maalik and others – because when the woman who was suffering from istihaadah said to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): I bleed very heavily and that has kept me from praying and fasting, he told her what she had to do in the future, but he did not instruct her to make up prayers from the past.
End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa(21/101)
And Allah knows best.

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