Fatwa ID: 09210
Answered by Muftiyah Maryam Badshah
Question:
Aoa,
Asking this question on behalf of my elder sister.
I am 44 years old and have been experiencing irregular period for the past 6 months. Earlier I had a consistent routine of 5 days every month.
For the past 2 times, I have missed my periods for 2 months. In the 3rd month I get small blood clots in my urine for 6 to 7 days with a few drops that I can see on the sanitary napkin. Sometimes the blood is red. Sometimes darker. Progressively the number of clots/ stains I see get more until the flow becomes consistent and period like for a few days. Then the process works in reverse with incidents of staining and spotting till it ends completely. The last time this continued over 5 weeks. I am not sure when to stop praying / fasting. I know bleeding over 15 days is not considered menses and that for women who bleed all the time, they are supposed to decide the time and number of days to consider as menses. Should I continue to pray/fast till it reaches a consistent flow or should I stop at the first sight and count 15 days?
Please guide me.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
Any discoloured discharge (i.e. red, yellow, green, black or brown) within a woman’s time of haidh is considered to be menstrual blood. According to the Hanafi madhab, a woman is only considered to be on her haidh if this discoloured discharge lasts between 3 to 10 days (72-240 hrs). The clean period between two haidh can be no shorter than 15 days (360 hrs). Ghusl should not be performed until you are certain your haidh has ended. Haidh ends when there is either no discharge, the discharge is white/clear, or the 10th day expires.[1]
Bleeding that is under 3 days or exceeds 10 days is called Istiḥāḍhah. The rules of Istiḥāḍhah require two pieces of information. The first is the length of the last normal ḥaiḍh (this is the ḥaiḍh where Istiḥāḍhah did not occur), and the second is the length of the last normal clean interval (which occurred between two normal ḥaiḍh). When the bleeding exceeds the 10th day, they are to consider whatever bleeding that occurred longer than their last normal ḥaiḍh (e.g. 5 days) as the first of their clean days and the start of the Istiḥāḍhah. The length of these “clean days” will be according to the last normal clean interval (which is a minimum of 15 days). As for any bleeding that exceeds these “clean days”, it would be considered the second/next ḥaiḍh if it fulfils the conditions of ḥaiḍh (i.e. a minimum of 3 days and maximum of 10 days). Qadha will need to be done for any salah missed during Istiḥāḍhah (e.g. starting from day 5).[2]
Regarding wudhu, if the Istiḥāḍhah bleeding is intermittent (spotting), the wudhu will break each instance the bleeding occurs. However, if the bleeding is continuous they would fall under the rulings of a ma’zhur (excused person). As a ma’zhur, they would only need to renew their wudhu once each salah time, and this wudhu would only break if a different nawaqid occurs (e.g. sleeping).[3]
A solution given by scholars for spotting at the end of a period is to use something akin to an interlabial pad or cotton (kursuf) to stem the flow of the discharge. So long as the discharge does not exit past the labia minora (farj al-kharij) it would not break the wudhu. Although anything which enters deeper into the internal vagina (such as tampons) would not be advised for use by unmarried women.[4]
Your sister should consider the first instance of bleeding as the start of her haidh, even if it is intermittent. If her last normal haidh was 5 days, then she would consider her haidh to be complete on the 5th day if the bleeding results in Istiḥāḍhah.
Only Allah ﷻ knows best.
Written by Muftiyah Maryam Badshah
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
References:
[1]
فَهِيَ ثَلَاثَةٌ: حَيْضٌ، وَنِفَاسٌ، وَاسْتِحَاضَةٌ … وَ (أَقَلُّهُ ثَلَاثَةٌ بِلَيَالِيِهَا) الثَّلَاثِ، فَالْإِضَافَةُ لِبَيَانِ الْعَدَدِ الْمُقَدَّرِ بِالسَّاعَاتِ الْفَلَكِيَّةِ لَا لِلِاخْتِصَاصِ، فَلَا يَلْزَمُ كَوْنُهَا لَيَالِيَ تِلْكَ الْأَيَّامِ؛ وَكَذَا قَوْلُهُ (وَأَكْثَرُهُ عَشْرَةٌ) بِعَشْرِ لَيَالٍ، … (وَأَقَلُّ الطُّهْرِ) بَيْنَ الْحَيْضَتَيْنِ أَوْ النِّفَاسِ وَالْحَيْضِ (خَمْسَةَ عَشَرَ يَوْمًا) وَلَيَالِيهَا إجْمَاعًا (وَلَا حَدَّ لِأَكْثَرِهِ) … (قَوْلُهُ كَكُدْرَةٍ وَتَرْبِيَةٍ) اعْلَمْ أَنَّ أَلْوَانَ الدِّمَاءِ سِتَّةٌ: هَذَانِ وَالسَّوَادُ وَالْحُمْرَةُ وَالصُّفْرَةُ وَالْخَضِرَةُ…
Raddul Muhtar (Vol.1, pg.283-9, Dār Al-Fiqr)
وَالْحَائِضُ إذَا لَمْ تَجِدْ عَلَيْهِ أَثَرَ الدَّمِ حُكِمَ بِالِانْقِطَاعِ مِنْ حِينِ الْوَضْعِ
Al-Fatāwa al-Hindiyyah (Vol.1, pg.36, Dār Al-Fiqr)
[2]
قَوْلُهُ وَكَذَا الْحَيْضُ) يَعْنِي إنْ زَادَ عَلَى عَشْرَةٍ فِي الْمُبْتَدَأَةِ فَالزَّائِدُ اسْتِحَاضَةٌ وَتُرَدُّ الْمُعْتَادَةُ لِعَادَتِهَا…
… وَالْمَرْئِيُّ حَيْضٌ إنْ دَامَ ثَلَاثًا وَتَقَدَّمَهُ طُهْرٌ تَامٌّ وَإِلَّا اسْتِحَاضَةٌ
Raddul Muhtar (Vol.1, pg.300 & 303, Dār Al-Fiqr)
وَلَا يَبْتَدِئُ الْحَيْضُ بِالطُّهْرِ عَلَى هَذِهِ الرِّوَايَةِ وَلَا يُخْتَمُ بِهِ وَهِيَ رِوَايَةُ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ أَبِي حَنِيفَةَ وَرَوَى أَبُو يُوسُفَ عَنْ أَبِي حَنِيفَةَ أَنَّ الطُّهْرَ الْمُتَخَلِّلَ بَيْنَ الدَّمَيْنِ إذَا كَانَ أَقَلَّ مِنْ خَمْسَةَ عَشَرَ يَوْمًا لَمْ يُفْصَلْ وَكَثِيرٌ مِنْ الْمُتَأَخِّرِينَ أَفْتَوْا بِهَذِهِ الرِّوَايَةِ؛ لِأَنَّهَا أَسْهَلُ عَلَى الْمُفْتِي وَالْمُسْتَفْتِي. كَذَا فِي التَّبْيِينِ وَهَكَذَا فِي الزَّاهِدِيِّ وَالْأَخْذُ بِهَذَا أَيْسَرُ كَذَا فِي الْهِدَايَةِ وَعَلَيْهِ اسْتَقَرَّ رَأْيُ الصَّدْرِ الشَّهِيدِ حُسَامِ الدِّينِ وَبِهِ يُفْتَى
Al-Fatāwa al-Hindiyyah (Vol.1, pg.37, Dār Al-Fiqr)
[3]
بِأَنْ لَا يَجِدَ فِي جَمِيعِ وَقْتِهَا زَمَنًا يَتَوَضَّأُ وَيُصَلِّي فِيهِ خَالِيًا عَنْ الْحَدَثِ (وَلَوْ حُكْمًا) لِأَنَّ الِانْقِطَاعَ الْيَسِيرَ مُلْحَقٌ بِالْعَدَمِ (وَهَذَا شَرْطُ) الْعُذْرِ…
Raddul Muhtar (Vol.1, pg.305, Dār Al-Fiqr)
وَمِمَّا يَتَّصِلُ بِذَلِكَ أَحْكَامُ الْمَعْذُورِ) شَرْطُ ثُبُوتِ الْعُذْرِ ابْتِدَاءً أَنْ يَسْتَوْعِبَ اسْتِمْرَارُهُ وَقْتَ الصَّلَاةِ كَامِلًا … وَشَرْطُ بَقَائِهِ أَنْ لَا يَمْضِيَ عَلَيْهِ وَقْتُ فَرْضٍ إلَّا وَالْحَدَثُ الَّذِي اُبْتُلِيَ بِهِ يُوجَدُ فِيهِ
Fatawa Hindiyyah (Vol.1, pg.40-1, Dār Al-Fiqr)
[4]
وَضْعُ الْكُرْسُفِ مُسْتَحَبٌّ لِلْبِكْرِ فِي الْحَيْضِ وَلِلثَّيِّبِ فِي كُلِّ حَالٍ، وَمَوْضِعُهُ مَوْضِعُ الْبَكَارَةِ، وَيُكْرَهُ فِي الْفَرْجِ الدَّاخِلِ
قَوْلُهُ: وَبِرَدِّهِ لَا يَبْقَى ذَا عُذْرٍ) قَالَ فِي الْبَحْرِ: وَمَتَى قَدَرَ الْمَعْذُورُ عَلَى رَدِّ السَّيَلَانِ بِرِبَاطٍ أَوْ حَشْوٍ … فَلَوْ أَحَسَّتْ بِهِ فَوَضَعَتْ الْكُرْسُفَ فِي الْفَرْجِ الدَّاخِلِ وَمَنَعَتْهُ مِنْ الْخُرُوجِ فَهِيَ طَاهِرَةٌ.
Raddul Muhtar (Vol.1, pg.289 & 308, Dār Al-Fiqr)