What a woman with irregular bleeding (istihadah) should do

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that Sayyidah Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh (may Allah be pleased with her) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "I am a woman with istihadah (continuous bleeding) and I do not become pure; should I leave the prayer?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is (the blood of) a vein; it is not menstruation. When your menstruation comes, leave the prayer, and when the menstruation goes, wash off the blood and pray."

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that Sayyidah Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh (may Allah be pleased with her) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "I am a woman with istihadah (continuous bleeding) and I do not become pure; should I leave the prayer?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is (the blood of) a vein; it is not menstruation. Leave the prayer during the days of your menstruation, then take a ritual bath (ghusl), perform ablution (wudu) for every prayer, and then keep praying, even if the blood drips onto the mat."

Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that a woman said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "I am a woman with istihadah and I do not become pure; should I leave the prayer?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No, but leave the prayer for the days and nights of your menstruation, then take a ritual bath, bind a cloth to hold back the blood, and pray." However, Ibn Numayr's narration says that Sayyidah Umm Salamah asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for a ruling about a woman whose blood keeps flowing, and he said: "She waits for the number of days and nights in which she used to menstruate, or their equivalent in the month." Then he mentioned the like of Abu Usamah's hadith.

Ikrimah said that Sayyidah Umm Habibah bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) developed istihadah, and she asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or he was asked about her. He (peace and blessings be upon him) told her to observe the days of her menstruation, then take a ritual bath; and if she saw anything after that, she should perform ablution, bind a cloth, and pray.

Sulayman bin Yasar said that Sayyidah Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh (may Allah be pleased with her) developed istihadah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about her, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said that she should leave the prayer during the days of her menstruation, then take a ritual bath, bind a cloth, and pray.

Abu Ja'far said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the woman with istihadah, once the days of her menstruation had passed, to take a ritual bath and to perform ablution for every prayer and pray.

Al-Sha'bi said that the wife of Masruq asked Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) about the woman with istihadah, and she said: "She should perform ablution for every prayer, bind a cloth (pad), and pray."

Al-Sha'bi said: "I sent my wife to the wife of Masruq to ask her about the woman with istihadah." The wife of Masruq reported that Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "The woman with istihadah does not pray during the days of her menstruation, then she takes a ritual bath and performs a fresh ablution for every prayer."

Al-Qa'qa' bin Hakim said: "I asked Sa'id bin al-Musayyib about the woman with istihadah, and he said: 'No one knows more about this than I do. When her menstruation comes, she should leave the prayer, and when the menstruation goes, she should take a ritual bath, wash off the blood, and perform ablution for every prayer.'"

Urwah said: "The woman with istihadah should take a ritual bath and perform ablution for every prayer."

Sa'id bin al-Musayyib said concerning the woman with istihadah that, after passing the days of her menstruation, she should take a ritual bath, clean her body, then place cotton the way a person with a nosebleed places cotton, then bind a cloth firmly, and then pray.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "The woman with istihadah delays Zuhr and prays Asr early, and takes one ritual bath. Then she delays Maghrib and prays Isha early, and takes one ritual bath. Then she takes a ritual bath for Fajr. Then she combines the two (prayers)."

Ibrahim said: "The woman with istihadah does not pray during the days of her menstruation. When the menstruation has passed, she takes a ritual bath, delays the Zuhr prayer and prays Asr early, then prays both of them with one ritual bath, each of them in its own time. Then she takes a ritual bath for Maghrib and Isha, delays Maghrib and prays Isha early, then prays each of the two prayers in its own time. Then she takes a ritual bath for Fajr."

Sa'id bin al-Musayyib said: "She takes a ritual bath from Zuhr to Zuhr."

The same is reported through another chain.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "The woman with istihadah takes a ritual bath for every prayer."

Ja'far's father said: "The woman with istihadah takes one ritual bath for Zuhr and Asr, one ritual bath for Maghrib and Isha, and one ritual bath for Fajr."

Sa'id bin Jubayr said: "A woman came to Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) with a letter. I read it, and it said: 'I am a woman with istihadah, and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the woman with istihadah takes a ritual bath for every prayer.' Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: 'My view on this is the same.'"

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said concerning the woman with istihadah that she delays Zuhr and prays Asr early, and likewise delays Maghrib and prays Isha early. (The narrator said:) And I think he also said: And she takes a ritual bath for Fajr. Al-Hakam said: "I mentioned this to Sayyiduna Ibn al-Zubayr and Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them), and they said: 'Our view is the same.'"

Muhammad bin Uthman said: "I asked Salim and al-Qasim about the woman with istihadah. One of them said: 'She does not pray during the days of her menstruation; when the days of her menstruation have passed, she takes a ritual bath and prays.' The other said: 'She takes a ritual bath from Zuhr to Zuhr.'"

Sayyidah Hamnah bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) said that she developed istihadah in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so she came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "I have been struck by extremely severe istihadah." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Bind cotton firmly with a cloth." She said: "It is far more than that; it is gushing." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Tie a cloth like a bridle, and observe menstruation every month for six or seven days, according to Allah's knowledge; then take a ritual bath, and pray and fast for twenty-three or twenty-four days. Delay Zuhr and pray Asr early, and take one ritual bath for the two of them. Then delay Maghrib and bring Isha forward, and take one ritual bath for the two of them. Of the two options, this is the more beloved to me."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The woman with istihadah leaves the prayer during the days of her menstruation, then takes a ritual bath, performs ablution for every prayer, fasts, and prays."

The same is also reported through a chain from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

Abu Ja'far said concerning the woman with istihadah: "It is only a strike from Satan. If the blood overwhelms her, she should place a cloth, take a ritual bath after her menstruation, and perform ablution, as Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said."

Anas bin Sirin said: "A woman from the family of Anas developed istihadah, and they told me to find out (the ruling). I asked Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), and he said: 'As long as she sees the dark red (menstrual) blood, she should not pray; and if she sees purity even for a part of the day, she should take a ritual bath and pray.'"

Sayyidah Zaynab bint Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "I saw the daughter of Jahsh, who had istihadah, come out of the washtub while the blood was overwhelming her, and still she would pray."

Al-Hasan said: "The woman with istihadah takes a ritual bath (that lasts) from the Zuhr of one day to the Zuhr of the next day."