✦ By: ʿUbaydullāh Ṭāhir (حفظه الله)
❖ The Ruling for Menstruating Women (Ḥā’iḍ)
📖 Narrated by Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (رضي الله عنه):
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Is it not the case that when a woman menstruates, she neither prays nor fasts?”
→ (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1951, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 80)
This Hadith affirms that fasting during menstruation is not valid, and it is impermissible for a woman to fast in this state.
❖ Aʿishah’s Explanation: Fasting Must Be Made Up, Not Prayer
📖 Narrated by Maʿādhah (رحمها الله):
“I asked ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها), ‘Why is it that a menstruating woman has to make up her fasts but not her prayers?’
She replied:
‘Are you a Ḥarūriyyah (i.e., from a sect that deviated)?’
I said: ‘No, I’m just asking.’
She said:
‘We used to go through this (i.e., menstruation) and we were ordered to make up the fasts, but not ordered to make up the prayers.’”
→ (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 321, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 335:69 — Muslim’s wording)
✿ Key Points:
✔ Menstruation (ḥayḍ) means the monthly blood that women experience.
✔ During this time, a woman cannot fast or pray.
✔ If she fasts in this state, the fast is invalid, and she must make it up later.
✔ No sin is incurred for missing the fast during menstruation; it is a Shar‘i exemption.
✔ The same ruling applies to women experiencing postnatal bleeding (nifās) — i.e., bleeding after childbirth.
✅ Conclusion:
◈ A menstruating or postnatal woman is not permitted to fast during her bleeding.
◈ She is obligated to make up the missed fasts afterward.
◈ No make-up is required for missed prayers, based on authentic Hadith and the practice of the Sahābiyāt.
◈ If a woman fasts while in this state, the fast is invalid and must be repeated later.
وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
