Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah)

When the menstruation begins, you should abandon prayer; when the period equal to its length of time passes, you should wash away the blood and pray.

Urwah ibn az-Zubayr reported from Fatimah daughter of AbuHubaysh that her blood kept flowing, so the Prophet (ﷺ) said to her: When the blood of the menses comes, it is black blood which can be recognised; so when that comes, refrain from prayer; but when a different type of blood comes, perform ablution and pray, for it is (due only to) a vein.

Abu Dawud said: Ibn al-Muthanna narrates this tradition from his book on the authority of Ibn 'Adi in a similar way. Later on he transmitted it to us from his memory: Muhammad b. 'Amr reported to us from al-Zuhri from 'Urwah on the authority of 'Aishah who said: Fatimah used to have her blood flowing. He then reported the tradition conveying the same meaning.

Abu Dawud said: Anas b. Sirin reported from Ibn 'Abbas about the woman who has a prolonged flow of blood. He said: If she sees thick blood, she should not pray; if she finds herself purified even for a moment, she should was an pray.

Makhul said: Menses are not hidden from women. Their blood is black and thick. When it (blackness and thickness) goes away and there appears yellowness and liquidness, that is the flow of blood (from vein). She should wash and pray.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted by Sa'id b. al-Musayyab through a different chain of narrators, saying: The woman who has a prolonged flow of blood should abandon prayer when the menstruation begins; when it is finished, she should wash and pray.

Sumayy and others have also reported it from Sa'id b. al-Musayyab. This version adds: She should refrain (from prayer) during her menstrual period.

Hammad b. Salamah has reported it similarly from Yahya b. Sa'id on the authority of Sa'id b. al-Musayyab.

Abu Dawud said: Yunus has reported from Al-Hasan: When the bleeding of a menstruating woman extends (beyond the normal period), she should refrain (from prayer), after her menses are over, for one or two days. Now she becomes the woman who has a prolonged flow of blood.

Al-Taimi reported from Qatadah: If her menstrual period is prolonged by five days, she should pray. Al-Taimi said: I kept on reducing (the number of days) until I reached two days. He said: If the period extends by two days, they will be counted from the menstrual period. When Ibn Sirin was questioned about it, he said: Women have better knowledge of that.

She would wash herself for every prayer.

Abu Dawud said: It has also been narrated by Abu al-Walid al-Tayalisi, but I did not hear him. He reported it from 'Aishah through a different chain of narrators. 'Aishah said: Zainab daughter of Jahsh had a prolonged flow of blood. The Prophet (ﷺ) said to her: Take bath for every prayer. The narrator then reported the tradition (in full).

Abu Dawud said: The version transmitted by 'Abd al-Samad from Sulaiman b. Kathir has: "Perform ablution for every prayer." This is a misunderstanding on the part of 'Abd al-Samad. The correct version is the one narrated by Abu al-Walid.

Among the jews, when a women menstruated, they ejected her from the house, and they did not eat with her, nor did they drink with her, nor did they associate with her in (their houses) so the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) was questioned about that. Thereupon Allah revealed : “They question thee concerning menstruation. Say : I: is an illness, so let woman alone at such times” (ii 222). The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) then said: Associate with them in the houses and do everything except sexual intercourse. Thereupon the Jews said: This man does not want to leave anything we do without opposing us in it. Usaid b. Hudair and Abbad b. Bishr came and said: Messenger of Allah, the jews are saying such and such a thing. Shall we not then have intercourse with women during mensuration? The face of the Apostle Allah(ﷺ) underwent such a change that we thought he was angry with them; but when they went out they received a gift of milk which was being brought to the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ), and he sent after them and gave them a drink, whereupon we thought that he was not angry with them.

The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) would recline on my lap when I was menstruating, then recite the Qur’an.

If one has intercourse in the beginning of the menses,(one should give) one dinar; in case one has intercourse towards the end of the menses, then half a dinar (should be given)

Ibn ‘Abbas reported the Prophet (May peace be upon him) as saying; when a man has intercourse with his wife while she is menstruating, he must give half a dinar in alms. Abu Dawud said; ‘Ali b. Budhaimah reported similarly on the authority of Miqsam from the Prophet (May peace be upon him). Al-Awza’I narrated from Yazid b. Abi Malik, from ‘Abd al-Hamid b. ‘Abd al-Rahman from the Prophet (May peace be upon him); He ordered him to give two fifth of a dinar in alms. But this is a chain where two narrators (Miqsam and Ibn ‘Abbas) are missing.

When I menstruated, I left the bed and lay on the reed-mat and did not approach or come near the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) until we were purified.

Ikrimah reported on the authority of one of the wives of the Prophet (ﷺ) saying: When the Prophet (ﷺ) wanted to do something (i.e. kissing, embracing) with (his) menstruating wife, he would put a garment on her private part.

'Aishah said; The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) would ask us in the beginning of our menstruation to tie the waist-wrapper. Then he would embrace us. And who amongst you can have as much control over his desire as the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) had over his desire?

Sulaiman b. Yasar said that a man reported to him from Umm Salamah; There was a woman who had an issue of blood. And he narrated the rest of the tradition to the same effect saying; when the menstruation period is over and the time of prayer arrives, she should take a bath, as mentioned in the previous tradition.

This tradition has been transmitted through the chain of narrators like that of al-Laith to the same effect. It says; She should abandon prayer considering that period (she used to menstruate). When the time of prayer approaches, she should take a bath, tie a cloth over her private parts and offer prayer.

Abu Dawud said; Hammad b. Zaid on the authority of Ayyub has pointed out the name of the woman who had a prolonged flow of blood (referred to) in this tradition to be Fatimah daughter of Abu Hubaish.

Fatimah daughter of Abu Hubaish came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said: I am a woman who has prolonged flow of blood; I am never purified ; should I abandon prayer ? He replied: This is (due to) a vein, and not menstruation. When the menstruation begins, you should abandon prayer ; when it is finished, you should wash away the blood and pray.

Abu Dawud said: Al-Qasim b. Mabrur reported from Yunus from Ibn Shihab from 'Amrah from 'Aishah from Umm Habibah daughter of Jahsh. Similarly, it was reported by Ma'mar from al-Zuhri from 'Amrah from 'Aishah. Ma'mar sometimes reported from 'Amrah on the authority of Umm Habibah to the same effect. Similarly, it was reported by Ibrahim b. Sa'd and Ibn 'Uyainah from al-Zuhri from 'Amrah from 'Aishah. Ibn 'Uyainah said in his version: He (al-Zuhri) did not say that the Prophet (ﷺ) commanded her to take bath.

It has also been transmitted by al-Awza'i in a similar way. In this version he said: 'Aishah said: She used to take bath for very prayer.

Umm Habibah had a prolonged flow of blood for seven years. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commanded her to take bath; so she used to take bath for every prayer.

Sahlah daughter of Suhayl had a prolonged flow of blood. She came to the Prophet (ﷺ). He commanded her to take a bath for every prayer. When it became hard for her, he commanded her to combine the noon and afternoon prayers with one bath and the sunset and night prayer with one bath, and to take a bath (separately) for the dawn prayer.

Abu Dawud said: Ibn 'Uyainah reported from 'Abd al-Rahman b. al-Qasim on the authority of his father, saying: A woman had a prolonged flow of blood. She asked the Prophet (ﷺ). He commanded her to the same effect.

The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) said to me; Get me the mat from the mosque. I said ; I am menstruating. The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) then replied: Your menstruation is not in your hand.

A woman asked ‘A’ishah: should a menstruating woman complete the prayer abandoned during the period of menses? ‘A’ishah said: Are you a Haruriyyah? During menstruation in the time of the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) we would not complete (the abandoned prayers), nor were we commanded to complete them.