Fatwa ID: 03306

Answered by: Alimah Nasima Umm Hamza​

Question

My sister had a miscarriage on 29 March she had her period for 4 weeks. she stopped for a week and then started again on 7th may it lasted for 10 days. She stopped for 3 days and has now started again. Can she keep her fast and do namaz?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful 

Answer

The answer will be dependent on when your sister miscarried during the pregnancy.

If it was an early miscarriage where the foetus has no distinguishing features such as a finger, toes, etc. then it will not be classed as nifas. Rather it would follow the rules of normal menstruation. Therefore the first ten days would be hayd followed by the rules of istihadah and then continuing to hayd thereafter.

If the foetus had distinguishing features (somewhere after 11 weeks of pregnancy) then the bleeding after the miscarriage would be considered to be nifaas (post-natal bleeding). And this can last a maximum of 40 days,

Looking at your question, it is not clear whether your sister is in menstruation or postnatal bleeding, as you have not clarified wherein the pregnancy she was.

Therefore, to give you general guidelines to help you work this out- Whether she was in hayd (maximum ten days)  or nifaas (maximum 40 days) after miscarriage, it is necessary to be followed by 15 days at minimum of purity, or if there was continuous bleeding, it would be istihada for 15 days where she can fast and pray. Then after these 15 days, if she is still bleeding then again a maximum of ten days hayd would start. This cycle would continue until she has a normal gap between her periods.

Only Allah Ta'ala knows best.

Written by Alimah Nasima Umm Hamza.

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham