How Long Must a Husband Abstain from Intercourse with a Woman in Postnatal Bleeding?

Hazrat Aiz bin Amr was a companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). He was among those who participated in the Pledge of Ridwan. One of his wives experienced postpartum bleeding; she became pure after twenty days, so she performed ghusl (ritual bath) and came to lie with her husband under his blanket. He asked, "Who is it?" She replied, "So-and-so." He said, "Were you not in the state of nifas (postpartum bleeding)?" The wife said, "I have become pure." He removed her from his blanket with his leg and said, "Do not deceive me regarding my religion. Do not come to me until forty days have passed."

Hazrat Usman bin Abi Al-Aas (may Allah have mercy on him) said to his wives: "Do not come near me during nifas (postnatal bleeding) before forty days."

Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says that a woman in postpartum bleeding will remain away from her husband for forty days.

Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) says that the woman in nifas will refrain for forty days, then she will perform ghusl and offer prayers. Sha’bi (may Allah have mercy on him) says that she will refrain for two months, then she is like a mustahadah.

18362 - Al-Sha'bi said: (She waits) (1) two months, then she is in the position of a woman with irregular bleeding (mustahadah).

Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) says that the period of nifas (postnatal bleeding) will not exceed forty days. Ata (may Allah have mercy on him) says that it will last according to her usual duration, and it will not exceed forty days.

18364 - (W) (1) Ata’ said: (She sits) (2) for the duration of her usual habit, and she does not sit for more than forty nights.

Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said that a woman in postnatal bleeding will refrain for forty days.

Hazrat Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), women in postnatal bleeding would refrain (from prayer, etc.) for forty days, and we used to apply a yellow herb called wars to our faces because of the dull redness.