Foreword                                                  

1. By ghusul we mean washing the whole body, from the summit of the head to the tiptoes. The manner in which ghusul should be conducted will follow. Ghusul could be mustahab or wajib.

The wajib is divided into two categories.Wajib for itself, such as the ghusul of the dead. It derives its being compulsory not for anything else, but for its beingwajib.

The second one is wajib for being a precursor to another obligation, such as the ghusul of janabah, which becomes wajib when prayer becomes due. There are various types of this category. Ghusuls of janabah, haydh, istihadhah, nifas, coming into contact with a dead body. By adding ghusul of the dead to the ones we have just mentioned, we will have six obligatory ghusuls.

Mustahab ghusuls are numerous. They have their own time and place. It suffices to mention two of these; the ghusul on Fridays and that for assuming ihram for umrah or hajj.

Ghusuls, whether wajib or mustahab, are acts of worship like wudhu. So, none shall be deemed proper unless it is coupled with the niyyah of qurbah. Such will be acknowledged as taharah and cleaning.2. Any ghusul, falling outside the pale of the injunctions of shari’a, shall neither be deemed an act of worship nor taharah. Thus, it has no worth in religion. Accordingly, should a person opt for performing ghusul outside what Allah, the Exalted, has ordained as wajib or mustahab, shall not be considered of any effect. As such, ghusul is different in this regard from wudhu. As has already been discussed, wudhu is a devotion and is called for in itself at all times and places because it is mustahab. When a person performs wudhu with the niyyah of qurbah, the wudhu is accepted and he is deemed tahir.

Each of these five types of ghusul has been made wajib for a purpose, which the jurists call a major hadath. By giving it this name they wanted to differentiate it from things which render wudhu null and void, i.e. minor hadath. That is, wudhu is a kind of taharah from minor hadath whereas ghusul is a kind of taharah from major hadath.3. Any act of worship, such as prayer, that calls for taharah from minor hadath, i.e. wudhu, should call for taharah from major hadath, as has already been discussed in para.(71).

4. There are certain things that bar the worshipper, experiencing a minor hadath, from resuming them until they perform wudhu. By the same token, those who have gone through a major hadath, are barred until they perform ghusul. So long as they remain in a state of najasah, they are not allowed to, for example, touch the writing of the Holy Qur’an as discussed in para (47).

However, there are other forbidden things because of some major hadath, such as janabah and haydh. These will be discussed under their respective headings.5. If a person experiences both the hadaths, i.e. minor, which makes it necessary to perform wudhu, and major that requires them to perform ghusul, performing ghusul will suffice for both of them. That is he needs not perform wudhu. The same goes for performing mustahab ghusul, i.e. not precipitated by major hadath.

However, ghusul makes wudhu redundant in all the situations but one. It is the ghusul of istihadhah, the discussion on which will follow, where in certain situations, the woman in question has to perform wudhu in addition to ghusul.6. The reasons for ghusul may be more than one, such as a man experiencing janabah and touching a dead body, or a married woman just becoming tahir from haydh to experience janabah. One ghusul should suffice.

How should one go about performing ghusul?

7. All the five types of ghusul that is obligatory for itself and all mustahab ghusuls should be carried out in the same way.

However, ghusul of the dead is different. This will be discussed under its respective heading.

Requirements

Ghusul is a means of restoring taharah to the human body, using water.

 8. It is important that the water intended for ghusul should satisfy certain conditions. These are the same as the ones required for the water used for wudhu. That is, it should be pure, tahir and free. Thus, all what has been discussed in paras.(2) to (6) of the Chapter on Wudhu is relevant here.

9. The conditions which the worshippers should satisfy are (a) they should ensure that the parts of body which came into contact with najasah must be made tahir again, (b) they should be in good health, lest ghusul should aggravate their poorly state of health, and (c) the niyyah of qurbah should be present.

All this has been discussed in para (7) of the Chapter on Wudhu. One of the requirements the worshippers, performing wudhu, has to observe is that the place where they wipe their feet should be free as a matter of voluntary ihtiyat. As there is no wiping in ghusul, there is not such a condition. However, all that was discussed in (8) to (12) of the conditions, including niyyah, to be fulfilled by a worshipper performing wudhu is of relevance here.

In para (13) of Wudhu, it was stressed that the person should perform wudhu himself. Here, in ghusul, it is incumbent on them to perform it themselves too.

The Manner of Ghusul 

According to shari’a, ghusul can be performed in two ways:10. The step-by-step way which involves pouring water over the head and neck and washing them thoroughly. Next should come the rest of body. You are free to start with the right or left hand sides; should you so choose, you may pour water on both the parts in one go. No matter which way you opt for, you should ensure that you cover all parts of the body, including hair, washing each of which thoroughly.

As a matter of voluntary ihtiyat, you should include the neck, after it has been washed with the head once, with the rest of the body. It is apparent, however, that you should not worry about the step-by-step washing, if it was possible to wash the entirety of the body, head and neck included, in one go under, say, a water fall. This is because what is of consequence according to shari’a is that the rest of the body should not be washed before the head, rather the head should come first.

However, without, it is not sufficient to move that part of the body that is in water, as such movement is not considered part of the washing. Furthermore , you could wash your head first and wash the other parts later even after a long interval , as it is not required to do all the washing in one go. 11. The second type of ghusul is by dipping the whole body in water, irrespective whether the quantity of water was kurr or less; what is important though is that water must cover fully all parts of the body. Should the body hair be dense, you should ensure to run your hand through it to ascertain that water would reach the scalp once you are inside the water. Any part of the body which remains outside the water must be washed instantly. The niyyah should be made at the start of the process of submerging the body. However, it should also be sufficient, if it was made prior to getting into the water so long as it is maintained.

12. In both ways of ghusul, hair should be washed, be it dense or thin, making sure the skin it covers is washed. However, it is not wajib to wash the inside of, say, the nostrils or the hidden parts of the lips. In the event of doubt whether a particular part of the body is of the upper or hyper derma, you need not worry about washing it. That is, unless you were pretty sure that it was of the skin, then you have the doubt that it somehow had changed to be part of the hyper derma.

13. The step by step ghusul is more superior than immersing the whole body in water. However, the person is free to change their mind and perform the step by step method instead of the other one.

Occurrences Precipitating Wudhu while Performing Ghusul                

14. Someone may feel the need to, say, urinate while performing any of the five types of obligatory ghusul. What should they do?

A. They should go ahead with ghusul which should be deemed in order. However, such ghusul cannot substitute wudhu, i.e. they should perform wudhu, even though repeating ghusul and wudhu is recommended, as a matter of voluntary ihtiyat.

Should the person opt for switching from the step-by-step ghusul to dipping the whole body in water, after they have experienced the hadath, they are free to do so. Such ghusul shall forgo the need for wudhu as the case maybe.

Occurrences Precipitating Ghusul While Performing Ghusul     

15. In the process of performing ghusul, a person did something that required them to perform ghusul. How should they go about it?

A. Should the ghusul be required as a result of doing the same thing that required the first ghusul, such as janabah, starting afresh is recommended as a matter of obligatory ihtiyat.

The need for a second ghusul may arise after committing an act that is different from that which brought about the first ghusul, in that they might be performing ghusul of janabah and touched a dead body. Here, they are free to finish the original ghusul with the same niyyah; this should, however, be on the premise that finishing the ghusul be alright. They should though repeat the ghusul, this time round, on the premise that it is called for by virtue of shari’a law. They could also call the first ghusul off and start a new one. Should they opt for submerging themselves in water, they are free to do niyyah for ghusul of janabah or touching a dead body or both, if the option was for the step by step type of ghusul  Ghusul of Jabirah. 

Ghusul of Jabirah

16. In the Chapter of Wudhu, we discussed wudhu of jabirah which is made incumbent on the person suffering an injury or illness that needed a bandage of some sort on the parts of the body that should be washed in wudhu.Here we are addressing the ghusul of jabirah.a. If the person is nursing a cut or an ulceration, they can perform ghusul. However, it is sufficient to wash the area surrounding the place of the injury. They can also resort to tayammum.

b. If the person is having a splint secured to, say, the fractured limb, he can have a ghusul. It is sufficient that he wipes over the jabirah as though he was in the same position of a person, experiencing the same injury, but performing wudhu.

c. The person having a fracture but not wearing a splint should take to taymum; it is not sufficient that he performs incomplete ghusul.

This should be the norm, if ghusul in an appropriate way was not feasible. However, if it was, and without difficulty or endangering one’s health, conducting proper ghusul should be the basis.

Issues relating to ibahat

Anybody performing ghusul while covering his private parts with usurped clothes , the ghusul is lawful but the man is sinful.

The same rule applies to those who usurp a generator or the like to heat the water

Who performs ghusul in a public path with the intention of pawing with unlawful money or does not intend to pay at all or even if he intends to pay later, the ghusul might be considered lawful , although , it is better to repeat it

How should one go about doubt in ghusul?    

17. If ghusul became necessary and the worshipper was not sure whether he performed ghusul or not, it is wajib that he should perform ghusul. In another situation, the person knew that he had entered the bathroom to perform ghusul for, say, janabah; after he had gone out, he had a lingering doubt as to whether or not he had performed ghusul. In this case, he should perform ghusul as though he was still in a state of janabah.18. In the process of performing ghusul or shortly after it, the person started doubting that he did not do ghusul properly, in that he did not pour water on the head and neck first, rather he washed them as part of the whole body. Such ghusul should be deemed in order, so long as he feels that he washed their body all in one go, for what is required is that one should not start washing the body before the head.

19. A person opted for the step-by-step ghusul. After finishing, he realized that he did not wash one part of his body. What should he do?

A. Should that part be the head, the neck, or part thereof, it is obligatory that he wahes it and repeat the ghusul. If the missed part was elsewhere in the body, such as a hand or a foot, washing it alone should do.

20. After having ghusul, a person doubted whether he had observed the order of parts when washing. What should he do?

A. He should consider the ghusul in order.

21. Should the doubt arise from whether the person washed the whole of the head and neck or part thereof, he should assume that the ghusul was in order.

The same ruling applies in the case where the person is in the next stage of washing, i.e. washing the body, after having finished with the head and neck. They should carry on and finish off what he started with.

However, if the doubt centered around washing or not washing the head and neck, or part thereof, before going to the next stage of washing the body, it is obligatory that he washes the parts in doubt.

22. Should the person, in the process of washing the body, doubt whether he washed an arm or some other part, it is obligatory on him to resume washing the suspected part. This is irrespective of whether the doubt arose after taking bath or during it. Whether the part in doubt was on the left or right sides of the body is also immaterial.

23. Should the doubt revolve around the correctness, or otherwise, of the washing, such as the person might have thought that he used najis or mixed water in performing the ghusul, he should assume that the ghusul was in order. There will be no need to repeat it. It is immaterial if the doubt took place during or after the ghusul; neither does it matter at what stage of washing process the doubt crept in.

1. Ghusul of Janabah and its Rules                        

How does janabah come about?           

Janabah is an abstract thing. It occurs due to ejaculation of semen or sexual intercourse. Being in a state of janabah is true of males and females.

Passing semen         

24. Passing semen through the penis, be it during sleep or awake, wilfully or forcibly, during sexual union or otherwise, requires ghusul. Whether the quantity passed is little or large is immaterial.

25. Liquids, which may or may not be semen, could be passed by the male organ. How should they be treated?

A. There is a number of issues which need addressing: (a) The semen should be passed with pleasure, (b) thrown out suddenly and with force, and (c) the body should experience relaxation after its passing. Should the liquid passed lack any of these characteristics, there is no way it can be semen, provided that the person is healthy.

As for the semen passed by a sick person, it suffices to consider it thus, even if it lacked the force when it was passed. Should one description of the remaining two be absent, no consequential effect of the kind normally associated with the passing of semen should be considered.

26. Q. A person performed ghusul for janabah. Upon finishing he could still trace some sort of liquid coming out of his male organ. He could not tell whether or not it is semen. Does he have to perform ghusul again?

A. If the person passed urine prior to the ghusul, such ghusul is in order. Otherwise, the wetness should be treated as semen, and accordingly, he has to repeat the ghusul.

The person had performed ghusul before passing urine, then passed urine. They had slight doubt that their urine might be laced with semen. In such a case, he need not worry.

27. Q. A person noticed a sort of wetness, he could not tell whether it was semen or urine. What should he do?

A. If, prior to presence of the wetness, the person was in a state of taharah, without having had wudhu or ghusul, it is obligatory that he should perform both.

Should he be obliged to perform wudhu for something he did, he should perform wudhu and not ghusul.

Should he find himself obliged to perform ghusul for some act he commissioned, he has to perform ghusul and need not worry about wudhu.

Sexual Union                                       

28. We have already mentioned that janabah comes about due to secreting semen either through sexual intercourse or any other way.

What we are addressing here is sexual intercourse. Sexual union comes about as a result of inserting the penis in the woman’s vagina, regardless of the level of penetration, i.e. be it full or partial, and whether there has been ejaculation or not. Should this be the case, both parties enter into a state of janabah, and must therefore have ghusul. Whether the parties to the sexual act were sane or insane, willing or coerced is immaterial.

29. The man is free to get engaged in wedlock sex, even if he knew he was not going to be able to perform ghusul and should therefore take to tayamum to say prayer. Whether he embarked on the sexual act before or after the time of prayer had become due is immaterial too.

Is it necessary to have ghusul?             

Ghusul of janabah is a devotion in itself. Notwithstanding, it becomes obligatory as a precursor to other acts of worship. Such shall not be deemed sound, unless ghusul is performed. Accordingly, acceptance of the five daily prayers is dependant on having a ghusul. That is, irrespective of whether the prayer in hand was said ada’ or qadha’. This is also true of any parts of prayer that might be said after the main prayer has been performed. Just as ghusul is conditional to the acceptance of an obligatory prayer, so is it conditional in voluntary prayer because no prayer shall be considered valid without the person performing it being in a state of taharah. The same goes for tawaf of hajj and umrah, and their prayer.However, like wudhu, ghusul is not an essential requirement for saying prayer for the souls of the dead. Neither is it a condition for performing the two sujoods, usually performed after finishing prayer for certain commisions or omissions thereof )sajdatay-as-sahu(. Nevertheless, being in a state of taharah when perforing these two acts of worship is recommended as a matter of ihtiyat mustahab(voluntary precaution).

30. Unlike wudhu, ghusul is essential for:

a. A voluntary tawaf, i.e. it is not required for tawaf itself, rather because a person in a state of janabah should not enter the Ka’ba, let alone performing tawaf there. However, should the person inadvertently enter The Holy Mosque and perform tawaf, it shall be in order.

b. Fasting during the month of Ramadhan or fasting qadha at other times of the year. The person in a state of janabah should have a ghusul before dawn, as a matter of ihtiyat, for the acceptability of their fast. More details will be discussed in the chapter dedicated to fast. However, ghusul is not essential for voluntary fast, in that the person can remain in a state of janabah and wake up thus.

c. I’tiqaf, because a person in a state of janabah cannot take to this form of worship knowingly. However, should they unintentionally complete their i’tikaf while still in a state of janabah, it should be in order.

More details on certain things which a person in a state of janabah cannot embark on until he becomes tahir again will follow.

What to do when in doubt?                    

31. Should a person in a state of janabah perform wudhu and say prayer without realizing he has to perform ghusul instead, his prayer is invalid. Accordingly, he should perform ghusul and repeat that prayer.

A person may experience the coming out of semen unconsciously, such as in a dream. Should semen come out and the person was not aware of it, he then performed wudhu and prayer, only to find out that he was in a state of janabah, he has to have ghusul and repeat his prayer.

32. A person may notice that either his clothes or body are stained with semen. If he has absolutely sure that the semen belongs to him and that he did not have ghusul for janabah, he should do so. He is not required to repeat any prayer that has been said and whose time has passed, if he thinks that he has performed it before the janabah. However, he has to say, by way of qadha, any prayer he has performed after he knew of the janabah.

Any prayer that was said on its appointed time and there was still time to repeat it, he should do so, unless the person was certain that it was before the time he experienced the janabah.

Things a person in a state of janabah should not do until he becomes tahir again   

We have already mentioned that whatever makes ghusul incumbent on a person, he should abstain from touching the print of the Holy Qur’an, unless he becomes tahir again. However, it is not forbidden for him to touch the name of "Allah" and His attributes wherever he may be outside the Qur’anic text; neither is it forbidden for him to touch the names of the prophets and the imams (a.s.).

There are other things which are forbidden for a person in a state of janabah:
33. Reciting any of the four ayahs of sajdah. These are verses 15/as-Sajdah, 37/Fussilat, 62/an-Najm, and/19al-Alaq. This should be applied as a matter of voluntary ihtiyat.

34. Staying at, and passing through, the two holy places, The Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.35. Staying at any other mosque, except for the following:

a. Where there are two gates for the mosque, where the person in a state of janabah can enter from one and exit from the other without staying.

b. Entering the mosque could be for taking away certain things which belong to the person, such as a book. There should be no staying at the mosque.

By comparison, the two prohibitions in a and b do not extend to al-Masjidil Haraam at Makkah and the Messenger’s Mosque at Madinah; they are confined to other mosques.36. Is it permissible for the person in a state of janabah to enter the holy shrines where the prophets and the imams are buried?

A. Apparently, it is permissible. However, it is, as a matter of ihtiyat, desirable to avoid entering these shrines.

37. The prohibition imposed on the person in a state of janabah not to enter mosques is a universal one, i.e. it covers all mosques be they fully operational or derelict all over the globe.

38. If someone is not sure whether a certain building or a place were part of the main building of the mosque, in that you could not describe it as mosque, does the rules governing the mosque extend to the suspect building?

A. Here, one should follow the practice of the people in whose area the mosque is found. If they were treating the building in question as a mosque, the rules concerning a mosque should apply. Otherwise, they do not.

39. Should the person in a state of janabah be unable to restore taharah to his body, they should not be employed in any lawful capacity which may entail staying in the mosque. However, should the employment contract be taken out with a person, in a state of janabah, who does not mind staying in the mosque, such contract is lawful. Should the hired person renege on his pledge to carry the work out because they were in a state of janabah, they have the right to do so. The employer though has the right to annul the contract.

40. The prohibitions imposed on a person in a state of janabah are confined to those who know of the state they are in. As for those who are not aware of such a state, or are doubtful, they practically are outside the remit of the prohibitions.

How should one go about performing ghusul of janabah?            

41 Generally speaking, all that has been discussed in paragraphs 10-13 of this Chapter applies to ghusul of janabah.

It is obligatory to hold niyyah of qurbah. There is no difference here whether the ghusul was to be performed to carry out a recommended devotion, such as touching the print of the Holy Qur’an, or an obligatory one, like prayer. It is advisable to refer to paragraph (77) of the Chapter on Wudhu.

42. A duly performed ghusul of janabah can be as good as any other ghusul, provided that the intention was confined to it.

Should a person not be in a position to determine whether he has to perform any of two ghusuls, for example janabah or touching the dead, yet he performed ghusul intending it to be that which is incumbent on him to perform, the ghusul is in order.

However, should he be aware that he has to perform both the ghusuls, yet he performed either one or both of them with the niyyah present, the ghusul is in order. If he performed the ghusul without the niyyah for either, the ghusul is batil.

Ghusul of Haydh     

Types of Blood                            
43. Blood could come out from the female organ, in instances other than child birth. It is of several types:

a. The bleeding an adult woman experiences every month. It is called haydh blood. The woman concerned should perform ghusul to restore her taharah at the end of her menstrual cycle. The ghusul is described as that of haydh.

b. Some bleeding caused by an injury or disease in the womb, or that which normally found in the aftermath of surgery.

c. The blood resulting from rupturing the membrane of virginity.

d. Any other bleeding is called istihadha.

There are certain rules governing the woman experiencing haydh, among which is that she should stop praying, refrain from doing such things as staying in the mosque and stop having intimate sexual encounter with her husband.
As for the woman who is experiencing any of the second or third types of bleeding, she should become tahir by washing the affected place with water where possible, i.e. without subjecting herself to any harm. That is, these two types of blood do not call for any ghusul or wudhu.
The blood of istihadha requires wudhu or ghusul in a manner which will be discussed in detail. The woman experiencing istihadha is obligated to uphold such a requirement and say her prayer, unlike the woman experiencing haydh.

Requirements of Haydh Blood                      

For the blood to be considered that of haydh, it should fulfill certain conditions:
44. a. The woman should have completed nine years of age and not exceeded fifty. Nine years is, as a matter of ihtiyat, the legal age of adulthood; fifty is the age of menopause. As for the woman who cannot determine whether she has reached the age of menopause, she must conclude that she has not; accordingly, she must continue to conduct herself as though she is still having her monthly period, whenever or not she experiences it. As for the nine-year old, who experiences bleeding, she must treat it as haydh, if she has completed nine years of age. If she was still undecided as to her true age, she should not consider it as such.

44. Continuity of bleeding during the first three days of the period is widely held as the norm. The first two nights and three days should complete the said three days. For example, if the woman’s period starts early on Saturday, the continuous bleeding should take her to the sunset of Monday. However, if it starts at the midday or evening of Saturday, it should continue to the midday of Tuesday. Intermittent periods when the bleeding stops would not detract from the principle of continuity.

In our opinion, however, continuity of bleeding is not of consequence. Accordingly, prayer should be abandoned when the woman experiences bleeding and resumed at the intervals when the bleeding stops, and so on until the three-day duration is complete. This is so, if the woman was, at the outset, in a position to tell that bleeding would continue for three days.
That said, in the case of non-continuity, it is desirable, as a matter of ihtiyat wujubi, to combine that which a woman in a state of istihadha is required to do and what a woman in haydh is not required to do.

45. b. The bleeding should not continue for a period in excess of ten days. If it does, the whole period should not be considered as haydh. Some of it might be treated as haydh as will be discussed. This is so because from a shari’a point of view haydh does not exceed ten days in total.

46. c. The woman should have had at least ten days of a state of taharah before the start of a new menstrual cycle. So, if she had experienced a monthly period then became tahir only to experience another bout of bleeding in, say, nine days time, the new blood would not count as haydh; this is so because the period of taharah intervening any two intervals of haydh should not be less than ten days, as a matter of shari’a law.
What we mean by ten days is the period consisting of ten days and the nine nights falling between the first day and the last one. By taharah we mean that the woman is free from haydh blood, regardless whether she was completely free from blood or experiencing istihadha blood.

47. For the woman to fall under the banner of a woman experiencing haydh according to the preceding description, the blood should come out from the female organ. If the blood remained inside, it would not fit the description of haydh blood, no matter how long it remained trapped. If at the outset it came out, it is sufficient to be treated as haydh blood, although some of it may still be trapped inside.

How can a woman recognize haydh blood?                     

There might be few cases where the woman cannot determine whether the bleeding she is experiencing is that of haydh.
48. a. The doubt may be based on the possibility of the blood being that which is resulting from an internal injury or ulceration, i.e. the second category. Should this be the case, she should treat it as that of the second category. Accordingly, she should not worry about satisfying the requirements of haydh or istihadha.

49. b. The uncertainty may arise from the belief that the blood could be that which has resulted from rupturing the membrane of virginity, i.e. the third category. If this was the case, the women could check the situation by inserting a piece of cotton in her genitals. After a short while, she should extract it. If the blood formed some sort of a ring like shape on the piece of cotton, the blood should be that of the virginity membrane. If the piece of cotton was socked with blood, it should be that of haydh.

Should the woman choose not to apply this investigation, and carry on with any act of worship, such as prayer or fast, such a worship is batil, until she is pretty sure that she has become tahir from haydh again.
However, if investigating by using a piece of cotton was not feasible for any reason, the woman should act in the light of her experience of haydh and non-haydh periods. If she is a novice, or she could not count on her experience in this regard, she must treat the blood as that of virginity.

50. c. Should the bleeding instance be neither that of an injury/ulceration, nor virginity, yet the woman cannot determine whether it is that of haydh or istihadha, she can resort to one of the following two methods:
1. Where possible, she should resort to applying ihtiyat, in that she should not embark on the kind of things a woman in haydh usually refrain from, and do the things which a woman in istihadha is required to do, such as wudhu, ghusul, and prayer until such time comes when the bleeding stops. Wherever we mention ihtiyat with regard to women we mean the aforesaid one.
2. She could resort to applying one of two legal ways of determining whether the bleeding she is experiencing is that of haydh:
a. Verifying it by way of its characteristics, or
b. Confirming it on the basis of past experience of the menstrual cycle.

Verification by Characteristics                                

51. Haydh blood has certain characteristics which set it aside. It is often either dark or red, warm, and comes out gushing. Istihadha blood is in the main void of such characteristics. It is yellow in colour.
Allah, the Most High, has characterized the haydh blood as such to make it distinctly and readily known as that of haydh, so that whenever the woman experiences it, be it during her menstrual cycle or during other days, she should treat it as haydh blood.

However, she should keep an eye on the bleeding for three days from the time she first saw the blood. If it continued, provided that it has the characteristics of haydh blood for the three-day period, she can conclude that it is that of haydh; she should therefore abide by the "dos and donts" required by shari’a law. This is so irrespective of whether or not the blood retained the characteristics of haydh blood or turned into yellow in colour.

The blood may stop or lose any of the characteristics of haydh blood before the three-day period. If this was the case, it goes without saying that it is not haydh blood; rather an istihadha one. Accordingly, it is obligatory on the woman to take to the procedure required by that of a woman in istihadha, in that she should carry out all acts of worship, she abstained from during that period, by way qadha.

Verification by Past Experience                            

52. Should the blood not bear the characteristics of that of haydh, such as it was yellow, the woman should resort to applying the yardstick of her known menstrual cycle, she should conclude that it is that of haydh. Likewise, if such blood appears before one or two days of the time of her monthly period. Should it appear outside the days thus described, she should conclude that the blood is that of istihadha.

However, the woman must not lose sight of the fact that she should observe the blood for three days as has already been discussed, and act accordingly.
For the woman to rely on her past experience insofar as her monthly period is concerned to determine the nature of bleeding, she must be in a position to tell when her period usually starts. If she has a regular period, yet she forgot when it would start, what should she do?

A. If the blood has the characteristics of haydh blood, she should consider herself having haydh in the light of the first premise (verification by characteristics). Should the blood not contain the characteristics of haydh blood, she should consider herself as having istihadha so long as she was not aware of the date of her period.

A woman experienced bleeding, not bearing the characteristics of haydh blood, believing that it would continue for, say, a week or more than the duration of her period. It so happened that she was aware that the time for her period was either in the first half or the second half of the week. If this was the case, she should resort to applying ihtiyat throughout the duration. Thus, she should uphold the prohibitions imposed on a woman in haydh and do that which a woman in istihadha is required to do. However, we will discuss in some detail the rules governing the woman who has forgotten the time of her monthly period.

53. How does the menstrual cycle happen?
A. It materializes when the woman sees haydh blood at a certain time of the month and sees it again at the same time of the following month. It also comes about at regular intervals, such as a woman experiencing haydh at intervals of half a month separating one menstrual cycle from the other.
If the woman gets used to seeing the blood at the beginning of every lunar calendar month for, say, five days, does it follow that ascertaining that it is a haydh blood should be based on it appearing at the start of the month and continuing for five days?

A. No, it suffices that it should appear within that period, in that if a blood that is yellow in colour appears on the second day of the said period and continues till the fifth day, it should be considered haydh.
A woman’s period follows a certain pattern, in that she notices the blood at the start of every month. Sometimes it continues for three days or more. Which of the days, she experiences the yellow blood, should be considered that of haydh?
A. The first three days of the month.

Verification of Haydh by Characteristics and Past Experience       

54. During her menstrual cycle, the woman may experience bleeding that is yellow in colour. It may continue after the lapse of the days of period. That which continued have the characteristics of haydh blood. Should such blood fulfill the requirements of haydh blood be present, all the blood be considered haydh blood, although some of it fits the description of menstrual cycle and some the characteristics.

However, if red blood appears few days before the time of menstrual cycle continues to its due time, all the blood should be treated as haydh blood, in accordance with the preceding general guidelines.
To sum up, any blood which cannot be judged as that of haydh or istihadha should be treated as that of haydh, provided that it fulfills the conditions mentioned in any of the two principles previously discussed, i.e. the blood may have the characteristics of haydh blood, or its appearance may coincide with the time of the menstrual cycle or slightly ahead of it. Otherwise, it should be deemed istihadha.

The Period May not be Determined on the Basis of Characteristics      

55. If haydh recurs two consecutive times at the beginning of the month, it should be treated as such, i.e. haydh blood. The woman should treat the blood that appears after that particular time as haydh, albeit it is yellow, as has already been discussed.
However, the same situation may be experienced by the woman with the exception that she is not sure that it is haydh; nevertheless, it has the properties of haydh blood; so she treated it as such. At the same time of the third month, she saw yellow blood, that did not fit the description of haydh blood. How should the woman in question go about treating such instances?
A. She should act as though she has a regular period.

The Pregnant Woman and the Period                        

56. What we have discussed applies to a non-pregnant woman. As for a pregnant woman, juristic opinion is divided as to her experiencing both the pregnancy and having a period at the same time.
However, what we are inclined to is that the two cannot coincide. Yet, the woman in question should not abandon ihtiyat, if she comes to see blood during the time of her monthly period, or if the said blood bears the characteristics of haydh blood, particularly when it appears after the monthly period in twenty days. She should uphold the prohibitions imposed on a woman in haydh, and the commissioning of the acts required by a woman in istihadha.

When should the woman in haydh perform ghusul?                

57. Should there be any possibility within ten days from the start of the period that bleeding stopped, the woman should hasten to ascertain the extent of the stoppage. If she is sure that her period came to an end, she should perform ghusul. Conversely, three situations may arise:
a. The woman may have a regular and definite period; the bleeding would not exceed the duration of her period; she would be deemed in a state of haydh so long as there is blood after checking.
b. The woman may not have a definite period, in that once her haydh may take seven days and another eight. Such a woman should consider herself in a state of haydh if there are traces of blood after checking; that is, within the ten-day duration of haydh. This is so if the traceable blood has the properties of haydh blood. If not, it is istihadha blood.

c. The woman may have a regular definite period of, say, a week. Upon checking she finds that there is still blood, after one week and prior to the ten-day duration. If she was in a state of istihadha before the start of her period, and the istihadha blood continued to the time of haydh, she should end her haydh by the end of her known period; she must deem whatever blood that is left as that of istihadha.

Should she be tahir before the onset of her period, it is left to her discretion. If she is pretty sure that bleeding would continue and exceed the ten-day duration, she must end her haydh by the end of her known period and consider the remaining days as istihadha.
If she is hoping that bleeding would stop before the end of the ten-day duration, she must add one day at least to the duration of her known period, thus considering herself in haydh, and carry out her obligations as though she is in a state of istihadha. She is allowed to add two days or all the days that complete the ten-day duration to the days of her period and continue discharging her obligations as though she is in a state of haydh for the entire duration.

If upon checking within the ten-day duration, the woman found out that there was no more blood, yet she was not absolutely certain that it was not the end of bleeding, in that it might reappear within the ten-day duration, what should she do?
A. If she was sure that bleeding would resume, she must not pay attention to the interval. Accordingly, she must act as though bleeding did not stop. If she was not sure of the reappearance of blood, she must perform ghusul and pray. Should bleeding not resume within the ten-day duration, her actions are in order; if not, she must act as though she was still in haydh during the entire duration.

For example, a woman experienced bleeding for four days. She became tahir, thus performing ghusul and resuming her acts of worship for two days. She then experienced bleeding for three days. She must treat the entire period of nine days as though she was in haydh. As a result, whatever religious duties she discharged during the fifth and sixth days are not in order.
This is what jurists meant when they have ruled that the interval of taharah falling between two periods of bleeding is considered an integral part of haydh, if the whole period does not exceed ten days.

Checking for the stoppage of bleeding or not by using a piece of cotton or by any other way, is obligatory on every woman who thinks that her period may have stopped. Should a woman take to ghusul, without making sure that the bleeding had stopped, in the belief that it did, such a ghusul is not in order, unless it was proven that she really was free from blood when she had ghusul. However, if she was absolutely certain of her being free from blood, without checking, it is not obligatory on her to resort to checking; thus, she may have ghusul and take to prayer.

What if blood exceeds the ten-day duration?                      

As has already been discussed that if the flow of blood stops before the lapse of three days, it should be deemed istihadha blood. This is so because the minimum duration of a menstrual cycle is three days.
However, should the flow of blood continue for more than ten days, which is the maximum duration of a menstrual cycle, it follows that some of that blood is not that of haydh. In other words, the blood in question could have started as haydh blood, yet it turned into that of istihadha. The question is: How would the woman pin point when the change took place, i.e. is it from the point the blood flow going beyond the ten-day duration or earlier than that?

Assuming that the change took place after the lapse of the said duration, the woman ceased all acts of worship during this period. And on the second assumption that the change happened prior to the expiry of the ten-day period, she must resume, by way of qadha, all acts of worship for the duration she missed. How could she reconcile the situation?

A. The situation varies according to the type of monthly period of the woman. Thus, there are five different categories:

58. a. A woman with a monthly period that is specific in terms of the date it starts and the number of days it lasts.
Upon experiencing the flow of blood, such a woman should conclude that the blood is that of haydh. Should it exceed ten days, she should treat the days of her period as haydh, even if the characteristics of the blood were not of haydh blood; the excess is istihadha, even if it fits the definition of haydh blood. She must apply the same measure, if the flow of blood starts prematurely or after the date of her period, provided that its duration is more than ten days.

Accordingly, she must treat the blood appearing during her known days as haydh and the remainder istihadha. She should then take to any acts of worship, by way of qadha, that she abandoned during that period.
Should the period start at a different date and continue for more than ten days, the woman must treat as haydh a number of days equivalent to her normal menstrual cycle. The remainder should be treated as istihadha.

What if the woman does not complete her menstrual cycle in time?         

59. Suppose that a woman’s haydh starts at the beginning of the month and continues for a week. She experienced the flow of blood on the fourth day and continued for two weeks. How should she go about calculating the duration of haydh? Would she treat the blood that she experienced during her usual time of haydh, i.e. four days which are the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, and the seventh of the month, or should she resort to considering the period from the fourth until the tenth so that it does coincide with the number of days during which she usually have her period?

A. The woman in question should perform, by way of qadha, all acts of worship she abandoned during the days which fell outside the days of her usual period.
Take the same woman in the previous example. Suppose this time her haydh started a week earlier than usual. The flow of blood continued until the fifth of the month. Would she consider the duration of her haydh that which falls within her usual period, i.e. five days from the first to the fifth, or should she add two more days from the previous days to the five days to remedy the shortfall to complete a week?

A. Here, the woman is not required to perform any acts of worship she abandoned during some of the days, i.e. those which she added to the five days to make up for the shortfall. However, it is more likely that she should compensate any acts of worship during the days, that fall outside her usual period days, she missed. She is not allowed to complete the week by adding any days falling outside her known days of haydh.

60. b. Some women may have their period during a fixed term but not necessarily at the same time every month.
Any woman in this category, should treat the flow of blood as haydh, if it has the properties of that of haydh. If the flow of blood continues beyond ten days, she must consider only those days that are equivalent to the number of days during which she usually have her period, starting with the onset of the flow of blood; the remainder should be deemed istihadha.

61. c. Some women may have their period during a fixed time but not necessarily for the same number of days every month.
Any woman in this category may treat as haydh blood any blood that fits the properties of that of haydh; she may consider that the flow of blood started at the usual menstrual cycle. If she experienced any flow of blood that continued more than ten days, she has the choice to treat as haydh six or seven days of the whole duration; the remainder should be treated as istihadha.

What if the woman forgets the time of her period?                 

The ruling in the case of such a woman varies in line with the category of her period as has already been discussed in the preceding paragraphs.
a. The woman who has a fixed term period could forget how many days her period usually lasts. Such a woman should be guided by the type of blood that is appearing during her menstrual cycle. That which fits the definition of haydh blood should be treated as such, and that which is not, should be deemed as istihadha, provided that the whole duration of blood flow does not exceed ten days. If it does, she should resort to guess work; should she be inclined to consider the duration of her period five days, for example, she should stick to those days.

Should she think that the duration is more than seven days, it is obligatory on her to observe the prohibitions imposed on a woman in haydh, and the obligations required to be discharged by a woman in instihadha insofar as the number of days in excess of seven days is concerned. This is so up to and including a duration of ten days. The rest should be deemed istihadha.
For example, haydh may set in on the first of the month and continue for more than ten days to cease on the thirteenth. If she believes that her period is nine days, it is obligatory on her to treat seven of those days as haydh, apply ihtiyat for the two days ending with the ninth, and consider herself experiencing istihadha for the period of the tenth to the thirteenth.

b. The woman who has her period on a particular date every month, but with irregular number of days each time, may forget the date of her period. If she experiences any flow of blood for at least three days and not more than ten days, she should treat the blood that carries the properties of haydh as such, and that which does not as istihadha.

If the duration of the menstrual cycle exceeds ten days, there may arise two scenarios:

b. 1. Assume that the woman is aware that her monthly period has fallen within these thirteen days without being able to determine when. In such a case, it is obligatory on her to do what a woman in istihadha is required to do and refrain from that which a woman in haydh is prohibited to do during those thirteen days, regardless of whether the type of blood was that of haydh or istihadha.

b.2. Assume that the woman does not know that her monthly period falls within these thirteen days. In this case, she must consider the blood that fits the description of haydh blood as haydh, provided that it is not more than ten days and not less than three. The blood which falls under the banner of istihadha must be treated as such.

Should all the blood be of the same type, such as that of haydh, she must observe six or seven days of it as haydh and the rest istihadha. If the blood is that which fits the definition of istihadha blood, all of it should be treated as istihadha.

c. The woman who has a fixed term/date period may be prone to forgetting how many days her period usually lasts or this occurrence or that. For such a case there could be three different situations:

c. 1. She may forget the duration of her period but not the time. The ruling in this case is identical to that of a woman with a fixed date period. However, once such a woman experiences the blood flow, which must be of haydh type, for more than ten days, and since she is not sure whether her period days fall within this flow, she must treat the number of days of her period as haydh and the rest istihadha.

c. 2. She may forget the time of her period but not the duration. Such should assume the state of haydh as soon as she experiences the blood flow, even if it is not bearing the characteristics of haydh blood. She must do this for three days. Treatment of the period in access of three days must be determined by the type of blood, i.e. whether it is that of haydh or istihadha. If it is haydh blood, she must treat it as such for up to ten days. If not, she must consider it as istihadha.
Should the blood flow exceed ten days, the ruling in this case is that of a woman with a fixed term period which has already been discussed.

c.3. Some women may forget both the time and duration of their period. A woman in such a situation must resolve it by reference to the previous two cases. That is, she should do what a woman in istihadha is required to do and not embark on that which a woman in haydh is prohibited from, even if she can have a guess as to the number of days of her period; this is so because giving more weight to the time factor is more important than that of the duration and so on.

62. d. The woman may have an irregular period, both in duration and time. She must resolve her situation by treating the onset of blood as haydh so long as it exhibits the characteristics of haydh blood. Should her period continue for more than ten days, there may be two possible situations:
d. 1. The blood type and colour could be that of haydh throughout the period. If this is so, she could treat the duration at the onset of the blood flow as haydh up to six or seven days, as she deems fit. The remaining duration should be considered istihadha.

d. 2. Both the blood type and colour could be changing. If this has been the case, the woman should treat the blood which is more akin to the characteristics as haydh; the exceptions being that:
d/2/a. The duration of the blood in question be less than three days. The ruling on such a case is the same as in (d/1).

d/2/b. The duration of the blood under discussion be more than ten days. The ruling on such a case is that discussed para. (d/1).

d/2/c. There may be two separate durations of the blood in question. These are separated by a duration where the blood takes a different hue. The total of the two durations may not exceed ten days. However, if the intervening duration is added to the total, it is bound to increase to more than ten days. Suppose that the total duration was fifteen days divided into three equal segments; In such a case, the woman should treat the first five days as haydh, the second five-day duration as istihadha, and so does the third, for it has followed on from the ten-day period.

63. e. The Beginner, i.e. the woman who witnesses the blood flow for the first time. She may treat the blood bearing the characteristics of haydh as haydh blood as has already been discussed. However, should the period exceed ten days, there may be two possible situations, like those of a woman with an irregular period:

e. 1. Should the blood be that of the type of haydh, she may mimic the menstrual cycle of her women folk, i.e. go for the same number of days of their period and treat the rest as istihadha. If the monthly period of her relatives was not universal or if she did not have relatives, she should treat six or seven days of her first experience of a period as haydh; she must observe ihtiyat for the remaining three or four days that complete the ten-day duration; that is, she must abstain from any acts of worship which a woman in haydh is not supposed to embark on, and uphold those acts a woman in istihadha is required to do.

Second time round, she must treat the first three days of the blood flow as haydh, and observe ihtiyat for the remaining six or seven days.

e. 2. Both the blood type and colour could be changing. If this has been the case, the woman should treat the blood which is more akin to the characteristics of haydh blood as haydh; that said, she should note the exceptions in the case of a woman with an irregular period already discussed.

If bleeding continue for more than ten days,it could be one of two types   

64. The blood in excess of ten days, which is governed by the aforesaid rules, should have the following properties:

a. The blood flow must continue for ten days until the eleventh day.
b. The blood flow could be intermittent, in that it appears for a while then stops, but before the lull duration continues for ten days, it resumes again.
If the stoppage duration be ten days, both the durations ]the one preceding the intervening duration and that which follows it[ should be treated as haydh as has already been discussed. That is, the rules governing the flow of blood for more than ten days do not apply.

65. Summation
The following ten cases may help the woman in identifying the appropriate ruling applicable to her own case:
a. Any woman may experience haydh blood for three to ten days. It may then stop for ten days only to resume for another three to ten days. The two durations of blood flow are deemed haydh; the intervening duration is one of taharah.

b. A woman experiencing an intermittent flow of haydh blood, within a ten-day period, i.e. that which appears for three days, then stops for a short spell only to resume again, should treat all the blood during this time, including the short breaks, as haydh.

c. A woman experiencing a flow of haydh blood for a period of less than three days, only to resume after a day, two, or more, should treat all as haydh blood.

d. A woman experiencing a flow of haydh blood for a period of three days or more, which changes in colour to yellow for several days only to return in the form of haydh blood, may treat such blood as haydh, provided the entire duration does not exceed ten days.

e. A woman, but not one with an irregular period, experiencing a flow of blood, that is yellow in colour, should treat such blood as istihadha and not haydh. The same goes for a woman with a fixed term monthly period, even though the flow of blood may continue throughout the days of her period.

A woman with a specific date of period, should treat the yellow blood appearing outside the days of her period as istihadha. That which appears during her days of period should be treated as haydh.
f. A woman may experience the appearance of yellow blood which later turns into haydh blood and continues for at least three days. Such a woman should consider herself having istihadha on the days of undue menses and having haydh in those days when the blood flow is that of haydh.

g. A woman with a fixed term/date menstrual period may experience a flow of blood during the time of her period; yet it may stop before the completion of the duration of the period. Suppose this woman’s period starts at the beginning of the month and continues for a week. If she has her period for, say, five days only to stop another five days and resume for seven days, can she deem the latter duration, of seven days, her monthly period because it tallied with the number of days of her actual period?

A. No, she must consider the blood of the first duration of five days that of haydh, although it is yellow in colour and the blood flow during the seven days istihadha, although it exhibits the characteristics of haydh blood.

h. A woman with a fixed date menstrual period may experience the flow of blood prematurely. Suppose it starts three days or more earlier and continues during the days of period and beyond. Should the total duration be not more than ten days, there is no doubt that it should be considered haydh as early as two days prior to the date of period, regardless of whether it was red or yellow in colour. Prior to this, the blood that has the properties of haydh blood should be treated thus, and that which fits the definition of istihadha blood should be deemed as such.

i. A woman with a fixed term/date menstrual period may experience a flow of blood before the time of her period; yet it may continue even after the completion of the duration of the menstrual cycle bringing the total to more than of ten days. She must regard the blood that coincided with the days of her period as haydh and the rest, i.e. prior to the time of her period and after it as istihadha. She must make up for the acts of worship during the moratorium periods, i.e. before and after the time of her period, by way of qadha.

f. A .oman with a fixed term monthly period may experience the flow of haydh blood for three days or more; it may stop only to reappear bringing the total duration from the onset of blood to more than ten days. Here there may arise a number of cases:

f. 1. Should the duration of blood, from first sight, be equal to the duration of her period, she must consider it haydh.

f. 2. If it is less than the duration of her period, she must deem haydh the duration of blood during the earlier experience, and the remainder istihadha.

f. 3. If the duration of blood and that of the stoppage are equal to the duration of her period, the ruling applicable to such a case is the same as that in (f.1).

f. 4. Should the duration of her monthly period be more the woman in the preceding case by, say, one day or more, she must regard those days falling within her period days as haydh, provided that they are not less than three days; the periods of lull should be deemed those of taharah and the rest istihadha; thus, she is not required to remedy the shortfall of her period from the second duration.
The same applies to a woman with a fixed term/date monthly period, if she experiences a premature flow of blood as described in the preceding paragraph.

The Need for Ghusul of Haydh                          

66. Neither prayer nor fasting can be performed with haydh blood. No act of worship, be it obligatory or voluntary, can be performed by a woman, in haydh, unless she restores taharah to herself by way of ghusul after her period has stopped. This is because haydh blood causes a hadath as viewed by shari’a law; such a hadath persists, even after haydh ceases, until the woman have a ghusul.
Ghusul shall neither be in order nor qualify to lift the hadath, unless it is performed after haydh blood has ceased.

67. Both the ghusuls, i.e. those of janabah and haydh, are one in their consequential effects on the acts of worship. In other words, any act of worship by the mukallaf shall not be in order unless they performed ghusul. So, whatever is required of a person in a state of janabah, as discussed in paragraph (39) of the Rules of Ghusul, should be required of a woman in a state of haydh or nifas. For example, the woman, whose period has come to an end, should perform ghusul or tayamum before dawn breaks, if she were to fast. Should she take ghusul/tayamum lightly, she must make up for the missed acts of worship by way of qadha’.

Forbidden Things for Women in Haydh                     

68. Just as the things, discussed in paragraphs (45/48) of Rules of Ghusul, are forbidden to a person in a state ofjanabah, so are they to a woman in a state of haydh.
Neither such a woman nor her husband are allowed to have sexual intercourse.Sexual union is feasible only after the woman has become clean of haydh blood and had ghusul, or at least cleaned her genitals. Should the husband let loose his desire for sex and eventually has intercourse, he would be deemed sinful; however, both shall not incur kaffarah. That said, the man can enjoy sexual intimacy with his wife short of a sexual intercourse. Yet, it is makrouh that he should resort to caressing those parts of his wife’s body between the belly button and knees.

69. If the man has sex with his wife either before or during haydh, she becomes liable for both the effects, i.e. those of haydh and janabah. Should she choose to have ghusul of janabah, while still in haydh, this shall be deemed in order. The effect of haydh remains.

Other Rules Regulating Women in Haydh                     

70. A woman in a state of haydh should, after becoming tahir, compensate for the missed days of obligatory fasting, be they for Ramadhan or those for a vow. However, she is not required to say, by way of qadha’, the five daily prayers, the prayer for a vow and the prayer for ayaat (natural phenomena).

The divorce of a woman in haydh shall be batil, unless she is pregnant, her marriage has not been consummated, or her husband is absent. This will be discussed in detail later. Should she be divorced in the belief that she was tahir which later proved to be inconclusive, the divorce is batil.
If, however, she was divorced with the belief that she was in haydh, yet she was actually tahir, what would become of the divorce?

A. If the husband was certain that she was in a state of haydh and that initiating such a divorce would never materialize, the divorce is null and void )batil(, although it was carried out during a state of taharah, because in truth the husband was not intent on divorce.
However, he may or may not be aware of the haydh; yet he is not aware that taharah from haydh is a condition to the validity o divorce. Such a divorce is conclusive.

71. Voluntary ghusuls and wudhu of a woman in haydh shall be in order. It is mustahab for her to perform wudhu and sit where and when she usually performs her daily prayer, facing the qiblah to chant the praise of Allah.

Ghusul of Haydh and How it Should be Performed                 

72. In itsel, ghusul of haydh is a devotion, yet it is compulsory for performing obligatory prayer. Thus, the prayer shall not be in order unless the woman has had ghusul in conclusion of her period.
For the way to go about this ghusul, please refer paragraphs(10) and (11). However, niyyah of qurbah, as discussed in paragraph (53) of Ghusul of Janabah, is paramount. Furthermore, all the rules governing the situations discussed in paragraph (54) of the same Chapter are applicable in the case of the woman having ghusul after her period has ended.

3. Rules Concerning Women in Istihadha                    

The Blood of Istihadha              

73. Istihadha blood is different in properties from that of haydh. In the main, it is yellow, cold, thin, and flows slowly. However, sometimes it may have the features of haydh blood. None of the four conditions of haydh blood discussed in paragraph (56) applies to istihadha blood, in that a girl below nine years of age and a woman over fifty may experience it. It may occur just before a fully blown haydh or after it, or even in between, provided the latter happens within a period of less than ten days. Insofar as volume is concerned, there is no limit to istihadha, in that the blood may appear for a day or part thereof; it may continue [on and off] for months or years.

74. Istihadha is deemed a hadath which in turn calls for the restoration of taharah. So, if a woman has performed wudhu, only to experience the flow of istihadha blood, her wudhu shall be rendered batil; thus, she should restore taharah to herself in the manner discussed in paragraph(89). That said, no consequences shall be attributed to istihadha blood if it remains trapped inside the uterus.

Types of Istihadha and the Effect on Performing Prayer    

75. Istihadha is divided into three categories in the light of the volume of blood flow, i.e. being either scant or abundant. So, the types may be labeled minor, medium, or major. This classification may be reached at after the woman has checked, by placing a piece of cotton (or a tampon) inside the female organ, or by any other device.

If the piece of cotton is not saturated with blood, the woman should conclude that she has a minor istihadha. She is therefore required, as a matter of ihtiyat wujubi, to change the tampon, clean her genitals, and perform wudhu for each and every prayer, be it wajib or mustahab. However, she is not required to renew her wudhu for precautionary ruku’, the forgotten parts of prayer, and the sajdatay-as-sahu; please refer to paragraph 46 on The General Guidelines on Prayer.
It is not recommended that she performs two prayers in one wudhu.
Should the blood soak the tampon without dripping from it, the istihad

ha is a medium one. She is therefore required, as a matter of ihtiyat wujubi, to change the tampon,clean the towel or change it, ]if it is of the disposable type[, have one ghusul everyday before subh (fajr) prayer coupled with a wudhu for this prayer. There is no harm in delaying the wudhu until ghusul has been performed. In addition to that, she must have wudhu for each and every prayer; it is advisable that she does not perform two prayers in one wudhu.

Should the blood drip from the tampon and/or flow outside the female organ, the istihadha is a major one. The woman is required, as a matter of ihtiyat wujubi, to change the tampon and towel, clean her genitals, perform three ghusuls in a day, one for subh prayer, a second for dhuhr and asr prayers, and a third for maghrib and isha’ prayers. Such ghusuls would relieve her from performing wudhu.

76. In all the above cases, the woman, having performed whatever is required of her of ghusul and wudhu, should hasten to perform prayer. That said, she is free to perform any mustahab acts of worship prior to the prayer, such as adhan and iqamah, and during prayer, such as qunoot.
If she is lethargic in taking to prayer, she should perform the process of restoring taharah to herself again and say prayer.

77. If the woman in a state of istihadha, even of the major type, discharges whatever obligations required of her in order to perform her prayer, she is allowed to say any other prayer, provided that she performs wudhu for each and every prayer; thus, she is not required to renew ghusul.

General Rules on Istihadha Type of Blood        

78. After the woman had become clean of istihadha, she did hasten to restore taharah to herself. Is she justified in so doing?
A. She should have hastened to restore taharah which is incumbent on her and say prayer. If the flow of blood ceases during the process of restoring taharah or prayer, she should, as a matter of ihtiyat wujubi, renew both the taharah and the prayer. If the flow of blood ceases after prayer, she is not required to repeat it. However, if she is experiencing a medium or major istihadha, it is obligatory on her to have ghusul for the next prayer.

79 Should there be a chance of the blood stopping to allow for both the ghusul and the prayer, the woman should seize it even with the delay. If she performs prayer ahead of such an opportunity, her prayer is batil, although it is performed with ghusul and wudhu. Should such an opportunity be squandered so much so that prayer is deliberately delayed, she be deemed sinful. However, there is no harm in such an omission due to forgetfulness; she is therefore required to restore taharah to herself and perform prayer.

The woman may not be aware of this opportunity; she may then say prayer according to what her situation warrant. However, there may be a short respite from the flow of blood, to the extent that there may be room for both the taharah and the prayer. In such a situation, she should renew the process of restoring taharah to herself and say prayer.

80. The woman in a state of istihadha may inadvertently forget to check the extent of her istihadha by way of the tampon already discussed. She may as well choose to ignore the checking process. In both the cases, she is not allowed to be contented with what she has performed, unless she ascertains that what she has done is acceptable.

81. If the end of istihadha materializes and the woman restores taharah to herself, she may hasten to prayer; she may as well postpone prayer to a later stage within its time scale. Accordingly, she should revert to the state prior to the istihadha insofar as taharah and prayer are concerned.

82. Should the stage of istihadha shift from a lesser one to the next stage, she is required to discharge her obligations pursuant to the new stage. For example, a woman with a medium istihadha, having had ghusul before subh prayer, discovered at around maghrib time, that she was having a major istihadha. She is required to have ghusul for maghrib and isha’ prayers.

82. Should the reverse happen, i.e. from an advanced stage of istihadha to a lower one, she should for one time perform the process of restoring taharah to herself according to her previous situation. After that, she should discharge her obligations in the light of the new situation.
83. The woman in a state of istihadha, of all types, can enter any mosque and stay there, irrespective of whether she has performed taharah for her daily prayers.

Divorcing a woman in a state of istihadha, even a major one, is allowed, i.e. contrary to divorcing a woman in haydh. However, a woman in istihadha should not attempt to touch the print of the Holy Qur’an, unless she becomes tahir again as dictated by her situation. In other words, she can only touch the print of the Holy Qur’an if she was in a state of taharah permitting her to say prayer.

Rules Governing Medium and Major Istihadhas        

84. A woman experiencing a medium istihadha before or after dawn could not have ghusul for subh prayer because she was asleep, for example. She should have ghusul for dhuhr and asr prayers and so on.
Should the medium istihadha start after subh prayer, she should have ghusul to be able to say dhuhr and asr prayers; she is not required to renew ghusul for mahgrib and isha’ prayers. Should the istihadha start after dhuhr and asr prayers, she should have ghusul for maghrib and isha’ prayers.
If the medium istihadha continues for a second day, the ghusul becomes obligatory from that day, irrespective of the time of the previous ghusul, i.e. before dawn, at midday or sunset.

85. A woman in a state of istihadha should do her best, during prayer, to trap the blood inside her uterus, by sanitary towels and the like, where possible and without due harm. However, should the blood flow outside the female organ, she must repeat the prayer, taking the necessary precautions. That said, she is not required to renew ghusul.

86. A woman with a major istihadha had ghusul for dhuhr prayer and asr prayer. She chose to say dhuhr prayer and delay asr. She must have a new ghusul for asr prayer. The same goes for maghrib and isha’ prayers, should the woman choose to say them separately.

87. Should the woman experiencing a major or a medium istihadha carry out what is required of her of ghusul, her husband can approach her for sex. That said, it is permissible for him to do so, even if she has not performed ghusul, as a matter of voluntary precaution.

88. A woman in a state of minor or medium istihadha can fast, regardless of whether or not she became tahir by way of ghusul or wudhu. Evidently, the fast of a woman in a state of major istihadha is also in order. Its validity does not hinge upon carrying out the daily ghusuls, let alone the nightly ones.
Women experiencing medium and major istihadha, who want to perform ghusul, can be guided by the General Guidelines of Ghusul

4. Rules on Nifas                                   

89. Nifas means a woman in labour Nifas blood is that which flows as a result of child birth There are certain rules which regulate the nifas occurrence These are similar to the rules governing a woman in haydh A woman in nifas should abstain from all acts of worship She must have a ghusul after she is done with nifas

90. Nifas may come about even with a premature child birth, let alone a fully blown one.

91. There is not a minimum amount to nifas blood. It may be deemed as such even with one drop of blood. Should ten days from the date of the child birth elapse with no blood in sight, there can be no nifas, even though blood may pour out profusely after that period.
The upper ceiling for nifas is ten days from the sighting of blood not child birth. So, if it is sighted on the seventh day of the child birth, the end of such period shall be the seventeenth day.

92. Should the blood be sighted immediately after the woman’s giving birth to her child, then stops for a day or so, then resumes before the end of the ten-day period, the entire period should be treated as nifas.

93. A woman giving birth to a twin, sighted blood after giving birth to the first baby. It then stopped. It resumed after giving birth to the second baby. Does the intervening period count as a period of taharah or nifas?
A. This time, even though it may be for one minute, counts as a period of taharah. Such a woman should cater for two periods of nifas.

94. The blood appearing during the time of labour just before child birth does not count as nifas, irrespective of whether it linked up with the blood of child birth or was separate. It should also not be considered haydh, unless one is sure of that; alternatively, it is istihadha.
As for the blood which a pregnant woman may sight before going into labour, it should be treated according to the rules concerning the blood of a pregnant woman which has already been discussed in paragraph (56) of the Rules on Haydh in this Chapter.

95. The rule of the minimum ten-day gap between one period of haydh and the other does not apply to the gap separating haydh blood, before child birth, from that of nifas.

96. Once nifas blood ceases and the woman becomes clean again, the state of nifas ends. This being even if the blood stops after one day or part thereof of child birth. Please refer to paragraph)91( of this Chapter.

97. A woman in a state of nifas may have a fixed term haydh of less than ten days. The nifas blood may continue to exceed the duration of her period. If she is certain that nifas would continue beyond ten days from the time of sighting the blood, she should end it, have ghusul, and render herself in a state of istihadha. If she has hoped that the blood would cease before the lapse of the ten-day period, she has the choice to extend her nifas period by two days or more, provided the total duration does not exceed ten days. She should then deem herself in a state of istihadha.

98. A woman in a state of nifas may not have a fixed term haydh. The nifas blood may continue. She must observe nifas and refrain from embarking on acts of worship so long as the duration does not exceed ten days. Should the blood stop before the ten-day period, she must consider it nifas. The same rule applies to the woman with a fixed term haydh of ten days.

99. Nifas blood may continue beyond ten days. If a woman does have a fixed term haydh, she should deem nifas a number of days equal to that of her haydh and the remainder istihadha. It then follows that she must perform, by way of qadha’, the acts of worship she missed for the period beyond days of her haydh. If a woman does not have a fixed term haydh, she must regard as nifas ten days and the excess istihadha.

100. Should a woman in a state of nifas with a fixed term haydh forget the duration of her monthly period, the rules applicable to her are those concerning the woman with a fixed term haydh discussed in paragraph(75) of this Chapter.

101. A woman in a state of nifas is treated in the same way as that in a state of haydh, in that she must resort to checking the state of blood flow or otherwise whenever she thinks that there is a possibility of the blood stopping, as has already been discussed under the Rules of Haydh.

102. Nifas blood may continue beyond ten days. For example, it may last a month. The woman in question should consider herself in a state of nifas for a duration equal to the number of days of her haydh, if she has a fixed term haydh. She may as well observe ten days if indeed her haydh duration is ten days or there was not a fixed number of days. It then follows that she must regard herself as though she is in a state of istihadha for ten days, which is the minimum period of taharah necessary to separate nifas from the forthcoming haydh.

After that, she must wait for her haydh to come. She should then treat the blood as that of haydh, even though it does not have the properties of haydh blood. If a woman does not have a fixed term haydh, she should be guided by the nature of the blood to determine whether it is that of haydh or istihadha.

103. The rules applicable to a woman in a state of nifas are the same as those for her peers in a state of haydh, in that she is not allowed to touch the print of the Holy Qur’an, stay in the mosque, have sex, or have a divorce. The same goes for refraining from any acts of worship, such as prayer and fast, so long as she remained in nifas. However, she should perform, by way of qadha, the days of fast she may have missed. She is allowed the things a woman in a state of haydh is allowed.
The manner of ghusul for a woman in nifas is identical to that of haydh, istihadha, and janabah as has already been described.