The ghusl of the woman with istihadah

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her), who was the wife of Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him), had istihadah for seven years. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is not menstruation; rather, it is a vein, so perform ghusl."
In the hadith of Harmalah: she asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about it, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is not menstruation; rather, it is a vein, so perform ghusl and pray." Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: She used to perform ghusl for every prayer in a tub in the room of her sister, Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her), until the redness of the blood rose above the water. Ibn Shihab said: We narrated that to Abu Bakr bin Abd al-Rahman bin al-Harith bin Hisham, and he said: May Allah have mercy on Hind; if only she had heard this fatwa! By Allah, she used to weep because she would not pray.

Ibrahim bin Sa'd (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated it from al-Zuhri, from Amrah, from Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her).
The hadith is sahih (authentic) from both of them (Urwah and Amrah).

(a) It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that Umm Habibah bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): I have istihadah. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That is a vein, so perform ghusl and pray." She used to perform ghusl for every prayer. Al-Layth said: Ibn Shihab did not mention that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her) to perform ghusl for every prayer; rather, it was something she did herself.
(b) It is narrated from Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her to perform ghusl and pray; it does not contain that he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her to perform ghusl for every prayer. In sha' Allah (if Allah wills), I have no doubt that her ghusl was voluntary; it had not been made obligatory upon her.
(c) Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Others besides al-Zuhri narrated this hadith, (stating) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her to perform ghusl for every prayer. But they narrated it from Amrah with this chain and context, and al-Zuhri's narration is better preserved than it. In it something is stated that indicates the hadith is mistaken: that she will leave prayer for the extent of her menstruation. Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) says that al-aqra' means the periods of purity.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that Sayyidah Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her) had istihadah. She mentioned this to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is not menstruation, but a kick in the womb. So she should wait for the extent of her menstruation, as long as you used to menstruate, and leave prayer; then perform ghusl for every prayer and pray." (b) Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Some of our shaykhs said that the hadith of Ibn al-Had is not mahfuz (preserved). (c) The Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar narrated this hadith from al-Zuhri, from Urwah, from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her).

(a) It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that Umm Habibah bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) had istihadah in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her to perform ghusl for every prayer.
(b) Imam Abu Dawud (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) had istihadah, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "Perform ghusl for every prayer." (c) It is narrated from Imam Abu Dawud (may Allah have mercy on him) that Abd al-Samad narrated from Sulayman bin Kathir: "Perform ablution for every prayer." This is an error of Abd al-Samad, and the correct statement is that of Abu al-Walid. (d) The Shaykh said: The narration of Abu al-Walid is also not mahfuz (preserved).

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the sister of Sayyidah Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) had istihadah for seven years. She would fill her tub with water, then enter it (to bathe), and the redness of the blood would rise above the water. She asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is not menstruation; rather, it is a vein. Perform ghusl and pray." (b) This narration does not contain the order to perform ghusl for every prayer; this is in agreement with all the narrations of Imam al-Zuhri.
The narration of Muhammad bin Ishaq from al-Zuhri is an error, because it contradicts all the other narrations from al-Zuhri and contradicts the authentic narration of Irak bin Malik, from Urwah, from Aishah.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that Umm Habibah bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her), who was the wife of Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him), complained to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about the bleeding. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Remain for as long as your menstruation used to hold you back, then perform ghusl." The narrator said: She used to perform ghusl at the time of every prayer of her own accord. (b) In these two authentic narrations, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order her to perform ghusl for every prayer; she used to do this of her own accord. So how can the order to perform ghusl be established from the hadith of Urwah?

Hisham bin Urwah (may Allah have mercy on him) reports from his father (Urwah, may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: There is nothing upon the woman with istihadah (irregular bleeding) except a single ritual bath (ghusl); then after that she should perform ablution for the prayer.

Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated the like of it, except that he said: "Then after that she should perform ablution for every prayer."

It is reported from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she did not hold that there was anything upon the woman with istihadah (irregular bleeding) except a single ritual bath (ghusl).

Sayyiduna Abu Salamah bin Abdur Rahman (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Zaynab bint Abi Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) informed me that there was a woman who bled continuously, and she was the wife of Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her: "She should perform a ritual bath (ghusl) for every prayer and pray."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that Umm Habibah bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), saying: I bleed continuously. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her: "She should perform a ritual bath (ghusl) for every prayer and pray." (b) In the narration that al-Awza'i reported from Yahya, the woman with istihadah is Zaynab bint Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her).

Sayyiduna Abu Salamah and Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on them both) report that Sayyidah Zaynab bint Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) used to observe i'tikaf with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while she was bleeding continuously. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her: "She should perform a ritual bath (ghusl) for every prayer."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sayyidah Umm Habibah bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) began to have istihadah (irregular bleeding). She asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her: "She should wait out the days of her menstruation, then perform a ritual bath (ghusl) and pray. If after that she sees anything, she should perform ablution, bind a cloth around herself, pack herself with cotton, and pray." (b) This narration is munqati' (has a broken chain), and it is close to the hadith of Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) which is in the chapter on ghusl; and the hadith of Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) is established by its chain, so it is more fitting that it be the authentic one. In the narration of Abu Salamah bin Abdur Rahman (may Allah have mercy on him) it is that she would perform a single ghusl and then perform ablution, and this does not contradict the narration of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

Umar bin Abi Salamah reports from his father (Abu Salamah, may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: "She should perform a single ritual bath (ghusl), then perform ablution."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that a woman began to have istihadah (irregular bleeding) in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her: "She should delay Zuhr and hasten Asr and perform one ritual bath (ghusl) for both of them; and as for Maghrib and Isha, she should hasten this one and delay that one, and perform one ghusl for both of them."
This is an error on the part of al-Hasan (bin Sahl).

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that a woman began to have istihadah (irregular bleeding) in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and she was ordered: "She should delay Zuhr and hasten Asr and perform one ritual bath (ghusl) for both of them; and delay Maghrib and pray Isha early and perform one ghusl for both of them; and perform one ghusl for the morning prayer."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) a woman began to have istihadah (irregular bleeding), and she was ordered. I asked (Abdur Rahman bin al-Qasim): Was it the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who ordered her? He said: I am not narrating anything to you from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Then she (Aishah) said: "She was ordered to delay Zuhr and pray Asr early and perform one ritual bath (ghusl) for both of them; and to delay Maghrib and pray Isha early and perform one ghusl for both of them; and to perform one ghusl for the morning prayer."

(a) It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that Sahlah bint Suhayl began to have istihadah (irregular bleeding). She came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her: "She should perform a ritual bath (ghusl) for every prayer." When that became exhausting for her, he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her: "She should pray Zuhr and Asr with one ghusl, and Maghrib and Isha with one ghusl, and perform a separate ghusl for the morning prayer."
(b) It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had ordered Sahlah bint Suhayl (may Allah be pleased with her) to perform ghusl for every prayer; when this became difficult for her, he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her (and he mentioned the rest of the hadith).
(c) Abu Bakr bin Ishaq says that some of our shaykhs said: No one except Muhammad bin Ishaq narrates this hadith (with a connected chain); Imam Shu'bah did not narrate this hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and denied that it is marfu' (attributed to the Prophet), and he also declared the name of the woman with istihadah to be mistaken.
(d) Imam Abu Bakr says: The narrators differ over the chain of this hadith.
(e) The Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Shu'bah and Muhammad bin Ishaq narrated it as has already passed.

Abdur Rahman bin al-Qasim (may Allah have mercy on him) reports from his father (may Allah have mercy on him) that a Muslim woman began to have istihadah (irregular bleeding), and she asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) (and he mentioned the rest of the hadith).

It is narrated from Sayyidah Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about Hamnah (may Allah be pleased with her), saying that she has istihadah (irregular bleeding). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "She should refrain (from prayer) during the days of her menstruation, then perform a ritual bath (ghusl); and she should delay Zuhr and pray Asr early, then perform ghusl and pray; and delay Maghrib and pray Isha early, and perform ghusl and pray them both; and perform one ghusl for Fajr."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Asma' bint Umays (may Allah be pleased with her) (in one narration: Asma' bint Abi Bakr; the narration of Abu Ali is more correct) that she said: I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh (may Allah be pleased with her) has had istihadah (irregular bleeding) for such and such a length of time, and she has not prayed. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah)! This is from Satan. Tell her to sit in a tub." She sat in it until we saw yellowness on top of the water. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "She should perform one ritual bath (ghusl) for Zuhr and Asr, then one ghusl for Maghrib and Isha, then one ghusl for Fajr, and perform ablution in between."
In the narration of Abu Ali it is: She should sit in a tub, and when she sees yellowness on top of the water she should perform ghusl.

(a) Ibn Abi Mulaykah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: My maternal aunt, Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh (may Allah be pleased with her), came to Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) and said: I fear that I will fall into the Fire; I have left the prayer for a year or two years, I have not prayed. She said: Wait until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) comes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) came, and Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: This is Fatimah; she is saying such and such. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "Tell her to leave the prayer every month during the days of her menstruation, then perform one ritual bath (ghusl) each day, then purify herself (with ablution) at every prayer; and let her clean herself and pack herself with cotton, for it is only an illness that has befallen her, or a kick from Satan, or a vein that has ruptured." (b) It is reported from Abu Asim likewise, that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then after that she should perform ablution for every prayer."

Ibn Abi Mulaykah reports from his maternal aunt, Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh (may Allah be pleased with her), that she had istihadah (irregular bleeding). She came to the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and mentioned her illness. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came in, and she (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "O Messenger of Allah! Fatimah has mentioned (such and such), that she has istihadah." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Tell Fatimah: every month she should refrain from prayer for the number of days of her menstruation, according to her habit before this befell her; then she should perform one ritual bath (ghusl); then ablution for every prayer."

In the hadith of Abu al-Ash'ath it is that his maternal aunt, Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh (may Allah be pleased with her), had istihadah (irregular bleeding) and remained for a period of time not praying. She came to the Mother of the Believers, Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and mentioned it to her. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came in, and Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "O Messenger of Allah! Fatimah has mentioned that she has istihadah." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Tell Fatimah: every month she should refrain from prayer for the number of her menstrual days as they were before this befell her; then she should perform one ritual bath (ghusl), then ablution for every prayer."

Ibn Abi Mulaykah (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh (may Allah be pleased with her), and in the hadith of Abu al-Ash'ath it is that his maternal aunt, Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh (may Allah be pleased with her), had istihadah (irregular bleeding). She remained for a long period not praying. She came to the Mother of the Believers, Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and related the whole story to her. Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Tell Fatimah: every month she should refrain from praying for the number of her menstrual days. When those days have passed, she should perform one ritual bath (ghusl), clean herself and bind a cloth around herself; then ablution for every prayer, and she should pray. What has afflicted her is a kick from Satan, or a vein that has ruptured, or an illness that has befallen her."
Al-Hajjaj bin Artah is not used as proof, and Uthman bin Sa'd al-Katib is not strong; Yahya bin Sa'id and Yahya bin Ma'in used to declare him da'if (weak).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Fatimah bint Qays (may Allah be pleased with her) asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about the woman with istihadah (irregular bleeding): what should she do? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "She should refrain (from prayer) during the days of her menstruation, then each day she should perform a ritual bath (ghusl) at the time of every purification, and pray."

(a) It is narrated from Sayyidah Fatimah bint Qays (may Allah be pleased with her) that she asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about the woman with istihadah (irregular bleeding). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "She should refrain (from prayer) during the days of her menstruation, then perform a ritual bath (ghusl) at every purification, pack herself with cotton, and pray."
(b) Abu Bakr bin Ishaq says: Ja'far bin Sulayman is open to question (fihi nazar); this hadith is not known from Ibn Jurayj or Abu al-Zubayr by any route other than this one, and narrations like it do not establish proof; and there is disagreement (among the narrators) about it.
(c) The Shaykh says: It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that she should perform ghusl every day; in another narration, that she should perform ghusl for every prayer. It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that she should (perform ghusl) at the time of every prayer.
(d) In one narration it is that when performing ghusl became difficult for her, he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her to combine two prayers.
(e) It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) and Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that she should perform ghusl from one purity to the next; one narration of Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) is likewise, and in another narration it is that she should perform ghusl every day.
(f) In another narration, which is from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), it is that she should perform ablution for every prayer.
(g) It is reported from Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) that in the hadith of Sayyidah Hamnah (may Allah be pleased with her) the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "If you are able, combine Zuhr and Asr with one ghusl, then combine Maghrib and Isha with one ghusl, and pray the morning prayer with one ghusl." He informed her that of the two courses this was the more preferred, although the first ruling was also sufficient for her: that she perform ghusl upon becoming pure from menstruation, after which there was no order to perform ghusl. The narration concerning the woman with istihadah is unrestricted, while in the hadith of Hamnah there is a choice.