Menstruation

I am a forty-two years old woman. Menstruation continues with me for four days. It stops for three days and on the seventh day It appears again but lightly. Its color turns into brow and continues up to the Twelfth Day. I was suffering from bleeding but it stopped after undergoing medication. However, I consulted a religious doctor and he advised me to become pure (perform gosol) after the fourth day and perform prayers and fasting as usual. I followed his advice for two years. But some women pointed to me to wait for eight days before performing gosol. What is the opinion of religion?

All the days, the four and the six days are menstruation days therefore you are permitted to touch you during those days. You mast perform gosol after first four days, pray and fast and allow husband to consume you during those purity days which are between the four and the six days. After the six days you should perform gosol and perform the worshiping duties as usual. Because the characteristic of the menses is that its days decrees increase and distance themselves from each other and vice versa.

A woman has a menstruation period of ten days. However, during Ramadan, it continued up to fourteen days and a black or yellow blood came out. She continued prayers and fasting during those eight days. Is it correct?

If menstruation period becomes mote than the normal period of menses, she is permitted to abandon prayers and fasting save it engages the majority of the month. If is pseudo-menstruation and she is not permitted to abandon fasting and prayers. In such pseudo-menstruation situation she has to wait only for the period of menses and then perform gosol and worshiping duties. Regarding the coloured blood, yellow, brown, black …etc, sometimes they are not menstruation blood and therefore her prays, fasting …etc are correct during this period.

What is the opinion of religion regarding the blood which comes out during pregnancy?

Normally a pregnant woman does not menstruate as Imam Ahmed states. It is known that menses disappear during pregnancy. However, some woman may experience the appearance of menses as usual and does not get affected by pregnancy. In such a case, this menses-during pregnancy makes it necessary that a woman who experience such phenomena must stop prayers and fasting during it. In other words, all rules and regulation related to normal menstruation are applicable on a woman who experience such a phenomena. Such types of blood is of two kinds: 1. It maybe a normal menses which continued without getting affected by the pregnancy. 2. It may be blood which results from a casual situation which affects women such as an accident, falling, or lifting a heavy weigh and in such a case it is not a menses but an exertion or effort blood and therefore, she is pure and it does not prohibit her from worshiping duties.

A woman tried to suppress menstruation during Ramadan and after several days of its normal and habitual time and intermittent blood appeared. It was not similar to the blood of menstruation. Therefore, she is now performing gosol fast and pray? Is it correct? And what should she do if it was not correct?

Whether the intermittent blood which is from its color, smelling and the normal pains which accompany menses. If it appears to be menses according to those specifications of menses then she is not permitted to perform worshiping tasks. If it was not according to those characteristics, then its pseudo-menstruation then she can perform her religious duties such as fasting and praying… etc. scholars identify menses by three signs:

It is important to know that blood of menstruation does not clot where as the normal blood clots.

During the last days menstruation, a woman, usually, does not see blood. Is she permitted to fast during those days although she has not yet seen the white patch (cotton)?

If she is not used to seeing the white patch (white cotton) as it is the case with some women then she can fast. But she used to see the stage of white patch then she must wait and does not fast until she sees it.

Does menstruation prohibit woman from performing curling and striving around the Holy Kaaba?

No, it doesn’t prohibit her from performing curling and striving around Kaaba because for this process purity of a woman is preferable whereas circling is a condition.

Is the woman permitted to use a medicine which prevents the occurrence of menses during the month of fasting (Ramadan)?

Menstruation is a normal biological phenomena the woman, periodically, experiences. To prevent the normal creates the abnormal. Allah gave license to woman not to fast or pray during this period. Therefore, it would be better to enjoy the license from Allah and not to prevent its occurrence for the sake of fasting Ramadan. But of a reliable doctor assures you that preventing menstruation by taking anti-menstruation medicine would not affect the normal biological functioning of your organs of pregnancy, you may go for that.

Menstruation cannot be measured by days. It differs from one woman to another. This can be understood from “they ask thee concerning women’s courses. Say, “they are A hurt and a pollution, so keep away from woman in their courses, and do not approach them until they are clean”. [2:222].

In this Quranic sign Allah has made purity as the sign of the end of menstruation period in which men are prohibited from approving women. Allah has not given it any limits in terms of days and He considered menstruation as a period and not a number of days-whenever there is menstruation it has its own rules which women and men must abide-by and whenever its period is over women and men are excepted from its rules and regulations. Therefore, menstruation has no a specific time or age, otherwise it would have been indicated in Quran and Sunna. If a woman sees the blood which is well known to all women that it is a menses which is having its own characteristics of color, painting etc. Then it is a menses and consequently she is excepted from fasting and prayer as well as being approached by her husband and during that period. When it stops she performs gosol, fast pray and get approached by her husband. But if the blood continues for an extra ordinary long period then it is pseudo –menses and she can make timely ablution for each prayer, use cotton patch and pray as well as fast.

She is not permitted to enter the Mosque except passing through it if required because in menstruation period women like men when the later experience night fall or approach their wives. They are not allowed to enter the Mosque. Allah the Exalted is might says, “O ye who believe! Approach not prayers with a mind of be fogged until you can understand all that ye say, - Nor in a state of ceremonial impurity except when travelling on the road, until after washing”

Blood comes out powerfully for three days from a woman whose age is fifty-two and during the rest month it comes out but lightly. Is it to be considered as a menstruation? It is worth mentioning that it sometimes comes after one month, or two months and even after three months. Should she pray the obligatory prayers during these bloody days. Should she pray extra prayer and night prayers?

Such a woman should consider such blood as a corrupt blood that appears as a result of the harmonic disruption of the meno pause. The history of Islam tells us that Aisha (PBUH) said that when a woman reaches the age of fifty menstruation and pregnancy stops and the woman face harmonic disruption which creates blood disruption. Its disruption is clear from the fact that it is not a menstruation but a pseudo menstruation which does not prohibit her from prayers and fasting and being approached by her husband. She must perform ablution for each prayers and keep a piece of cotton on the vaginal out-let. The prophet Mohammed (PBUH) advice a pseudo menstruating by telling her to “perform ablution for each prayer” [Refer to Bukhari]

A woman above the age of fifty but she still experiences the normal menstruation and another woman above the age fifty but she experiences a yellowish, redish blood. What is your opinion?

A woman who experiences the normal and habitual blood which she is familiar to, the blood is menstruation even if she was above the age of fifty because it happens that some women experienced menstruation after the age of fifty. In such a case she should abide by the rules and regulation related menstruation period such as abandoning prayers, fasting and not to be approached by her husband. After it stops she performs gosol, pray, and comperate the lost fasting days. As far as the women who is above the age of fifty and experiences a yellowish and reddish blood, if it was at the familiar time if menses, then it is the menstruation. But if it was not at the familiar time of menstruation, then it is not a menses. If it was a menstruation but it came before or after the familiar time, it does not make any difference. She must abandon worshiping task when it stars and perform gosol as well as perform the worshiping tasks when it stops.

A woman was menstruating at the beginning of the month but she saw the blood at the end of the month. What is your opinion regarding this?

If the menstruation delays from appearing at its usual timing as it is the case with this woman, then whenever she sees the blood she is menstruation and whenever it stops and she becomes pure then she is pure.

A menstruation woman observed a remarkable change in the span of time of her menses. It started extending itself gradually by two days, three days, and six and seven days. Then it became ten days or fifteen. Then she started seeing purity for one day or one night only and then again it returns. She is not observing a pseudo-menstruation. What is the opinion of religion about it.

If the woman observe the stopping of menstruation for only one day or one day or one day or one night during the menses, then she should perform gosol and pray the running prayers, as Ibn Abbas says, “If she see the an hour of purity, she should not pray and of she see an hour of purity, she should perform gosol” However, the purity period which is less than one day should not be given consideration, as Aisha (PBUH) says that women “should not be haste till they see the white patch (white cotton). Because, the blood is flowing intermittently, then purity can’t be proofed by a casual stop for one hour.

If a pregnant woman observes the following out of blood from her during the day of Ramadan, does this blood affects her fasting?

If a pregnant woman releases blood while she is fasting, then her fasting is invalid. The prophet (PBUH) says, “Is not if she menstruates, she neither prays nor fasts? Therefore, it is fasting preventing just like the period of childbed when there is blood of childbed. The flowing of blood from the pregnant during the day of fasting must be identified whether it is a menses or a corrupt blood. If it was a menses it must be treated like the menses of the unpregnant woman and it invalidates her fasting. But if it was not a menses then it does not affect or invalidate fasting. To be treated as a menses, the blood which comes out from the pregnant must be a regular extension of her pre-pregnancy habit of menstruation and must come at its familiar timing. But if blood stops after pregnancy and then she sees a blood which is not similar to the familiar blood of menses, it is not a menstruation and it does not affect her fasting.

Actually menses is not limited by the age of fifty. If it continues after the age of fifty and maintains it regular timing and characteristics, then it is a menses. But if it undergoes any kind of charge or disruption after the age of fifty, then it should not be considered as a menses. It should be viewed as a corrupt blood, which reflects an inner harmonic disruption. Aisha (PBUH) says, “if the woman reaches the age of fifty, she transcends the limit of menstruation” [Refer to Ahmed]. However, blood must be viewed whether it is followed by the normal pains and phenomena of menses which make it a menses, or make it a corrupt blood.

If a woman reaches the age of seventy and she still experiences the familiar menses what should she do?

If a seventy years old woman experiences the continuity of the familiar blood of menses, then she should not pray, fast of offer her self to her husband until she becomes pure.

A girl who undergoes the first experience of menstruation should not pray or fast during the period of the first menstruation venture. She can know that it is a menstruation by differentiating it from pseudo-menstruation. Pseudo-menstruation is different from menstruation. The later has its own characteristics of physiological and biological changes and pains. However, there is no definite age in which menstruation can be expected. But whatever comes out through the women’s vagina is mostly menses. Therefore, a girl should not wait till it comes again so that to be sure that it is a menses. A girl who is in the age if puberty must expect it and abide by its legal rules.

It means that when a woman see the blood terminates prayers, fasting and sexual intercourse till it stops for a day and a night, or ten days or fifteen days or more than this or less than this and at the second menses also she terminates the above activities throughout the period of blood and at the third menses and so on. This is the basis of how to deal with the successive menses that have their clear characteristics that differentiate them from pseudo-menstruation.

If the woman could not differentiate whether it is a blood of menstruation or of pseudo-menstruation or something else?

The origin on which the menses can be recognized is that the blood which comes out of the woman is to be considered as a menstruation unless it is proofed that it is pseudo-menstruation.

A woman has not experienced the menstruation for six months. Now, she is in the period of devotion (Eitikaf). But in the fifth day of Eitikaf she saw a little amount of blood. Should she abandon Eitikaf?

She should not abandon Eitikaf because what has come out is a little a mount of blood whereas women know menses by its color and its symptoms.

Does a pregnant woman menstruate? Because I have seen two sayings of Aisha (PBUH). The first status that the pregnant does not menstruate and the second states that if a pregnant sees blood she must abandon prayers. Therefore, which of the two sayings we can follow?

Scholars disagreed, whether the pregnant experiences menses or not. The correct out of the two saying is that the dominant phenomena proofs that she does not menstruate during pregnancy. Therefore, Allah ordered the divorced woman to undergo a period of Iddat during which she may experience about three menses. These three menses are evidence that her womb does not nurse any offspring. If the pregnant woman undergoes regular menstruation, it would have not been made, as a means of proofing the emptiness of the divorce’s womb from any sign of pregnancy.

Since many years I used to menstruate for a period of six days and on the seventh day I see purity and perform gosol. I used to see the yellowness during the last days if the above mentioned period. But a change took place and the yellow liquid started lasting for seven days more. Last month it continued for one month and I did not see purity during it. Now I consider the period of menstruation as only seven days as I used to perform gosol at the beginning of the seventh day, however, now and as a provision I am performing gosol at the end of the seventh day and start prayer.

The general norm related to this case and the like is that the yellowish and the redish after purity from menstruation is nothing as Um Ateya says, “We were not considering yellowness and redness after purity to be anything” The second general norm also is that a woman must not be haste when she sees the blood stops and hurry up for gosol. She must wait till she sees the while patch (while cotton).

Aisha PBU her advised the women not to be has title they see the white patch (white cotton).

I warn women from using medicines, which prevent menstruation, because it is medically evident that such medicines are harmful. Such medicines create womb ulcers, charge and disrupt blood, definition many biological and physiological tasks, disfigure the child in future pregnancy and lead to sterility if the woman was not married. Women must realize that the changing of the normal lead to the abnormal. A normal biological course should neither be suppressed nor disrupted. Abstraction the normal circulation of menstruation is like preventing urine and stools from coming out. A woman must not prevent the normal occurrence of menstruation even if she wants or intends to perform religious tasks.

If a man approaches his wife during menses or after it stops but before gosol or after childbed but before gosol, should he perform any kaffara (penance)? If the child legal or illegal?

Penetrating the penis inside the vagina during menstruation is prohibited by religion. It is a sin. Allah says, “They ask thee concerning women’s course. Say: They are A hurt and a pollution; so keep away from women in their courses, and do not approach them until they are clean” [2:222]. Whoever commits such a sin should repent and ask for forgiveness from Allah and offer a penance in the form of half Dinar as the prophet advised such sinners to “offer Dinar or half of Dinar as a charity” The value of the Dinar is four shares out of seven shares of the Saudi Reyal. Therefore such a sinner must pay twenty or forty Saudi Reyal as a charity to poor. A man should not approach the wife before she performs gosol. Allah says, “But when they have purified themselves, ye may approach them, in any manner, time, or place ordained for you by Allah” [2:222]. However, the child who is resultant from such a sexual approach during menses or childbed period is a legal child.