Abu Dawud

304. Commentary:
This narration is weak in its chain of transmission, as has been detailed previously. See Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith: 286. However, the matter mentioned in it is established by other authentic ahadith. Nevertheless, there is brevity in it, and after attaining purity, the mention of ritual bath (ghusl) is not present. Shaykh al-Albani rahimahullah has declared it hasan. From this and other similar ahadith, it has been deduced that a woman experiencing istihaadah (non-menstrual vaginal bleeding) cannot perform two prayers with one ablution (wudu); rather, she must perform ablution for each prayer.

Lexical Explanation:
«بَابُ الْحَيْضِ» Menstruation (hayd) refers to the blood that is discharged from a woman's womb every month upon reaching puberty. This occurs during specific days and continues until the age of despair from childbearing. It does not occur due to any illness or childbirth.
«يُعْرَفُ» is derived from ma‘rifah (recognition) and is in the passive form. Its meaning is that women know and recognize which blood it is. Another opinion is that «يُعْرَفُ» is derived from the baab if‘aal (causative form), in the active voice. In this case, the "ya" will have a dammah and the "ra" will be kasrah. The meaning would then be that it is foul-smelling.
«فَإِذَا كَانَ ذٰلِكِ» The "kaf" has a kasrah underneath, meaning: when your condition is like this.
«فَأَمْسِكِي» is the imperative form for the singular feminine, and its meaning is: refrain from prayer.
«فَإِذَا كَانَ الْاخَرُ» When the blood does not have the aforementioned characteristic.
«مِرْكَنٍ» A very large bowl-like vessel (a kind of tub). In this, the "meem" has a kasrah underneath and the "kaf" has a fatha.
«فَإِذا رَأَتْ صُفْرَةً فَوْقَ الْمَاءِ» When she sees yellowness on the water, she should know that this is a sign of the departure and end of menstruation.
«فَلْتَغْتَسِلْ لِلظُّهْرِ وَالْعَصْرِ غُسْلًا وَاحِدًا» Then she should perform a single ritual bath (ghusl) for both the Zuhr and Asr prayers. The practical way to do this is to delay the Zuhr prayer and slightly advance the Asr prayer, so that both prayers are performed within their actual times and a formal combination (jam‘ suri) is achieved. She should do the same for the Maghrib and Isha prayers.
«وَ تَتَوَضَّأُ فِيمَا بَيْنَ ذٰلِكَ» She should perform ablution (wudu) between both the Zuhr and Asr, and Maghrib and Isha prayers. From this, it is understood that she cannot perform the Asr prayer with the ablution of Zuhr, nor the Isha prayer with the ablution of Maghrib. This is for a woman experiencing istihada (non-menstrual vaginal bleeding). If a woman experiencing istihada wishes to combine two prayers, she may perform only one obligatory prayer with a single ablution.

Benefits and Issues:
➊ A young woman encounters three types of blood: one is menstruation (hayd, monthly periods), the second is postpartum bleeding (nifas), which continues from childbirth up to forty days or less/more, and the third is istihada (non-menstrual bleeding).
➋ Istihada is the blood that continues outside the days of menstruation and the forty days of postpartum bleeding.
➌ According to Imam Shafi‘i rahimahullah, the minimum duration of menstruation is one day and the maximum is fifteen days. Imam Abu Hanifah rahimahullah says it can be from three to ten days. Considering the country, climate, and the nature of women, the opinions of both Imams can be correct in their own contexts. In any case, every woman knows, in light of her own nature and habit, the number of her days. If blood continues beyond this number, it should be considered istihada and she should act accordingly.

Hadith Narrator: (Sayyidah Asma’ bint Umays radi Allahu anha) She was the honorable wife of Sayyiduna Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib radi Allahu anhu. She migrated to Abyssinia with her husband, where Allah, the Exalted, blessed them with children, among whom one son was named Abdullah. After the martyrdom of Sayyiduna Ja‘far Tayyar radi Allahu anhu in the Battle of Mu’tah, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radi Allahu anhu married her. From her, Muhammad was born, who is famous as Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. After the death of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr radi Allahu anhu, Sayyiduna Ali radi Allahu anhu married her, and a child was born from her. Sayyiduna Umar radi Allahu anhu used to ask her for the interpretation of dreams. She passed away after the death of Sayyiduna Ali radi Allahu anhu. Note that «عُمَيْس» according to Arabic grammar is the diminutive form of «عَمِيْس».