Question: If a woman becomes menstruating during Hajj or Umrah, can she perform the Tawaf and the other rites or not? Please clarify in the light of the Quran and Hadith.
Answer: A menstruating woman should put on the ihram for Hajj or Umrah and continue doing all the rites of Hajj, except that she should not perform Tawaf around the House of Allah, nor should she offer the prayers. Then, when she becomes clean from menstruation, she should perform Tawaf around the Ka’bah, because purity is a condition for Tawaf. If she is not in a state of purity, Tawaf is not valid. Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates:
خرجنا مع النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم لا نذكر إلا الحج، فلما جئنا سرف طمثت، فدخل على النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم وانا ابكي، فقال : ما يبكيك ؟ قلت : لوددت والله اني لم احج العام، قال : لعلك نفست ؟ قلت : نعم، قال : ” فإن ذلك شيء كتبه الله على بنات آدم، فافعلي ما يفعل الحاج غير ان لا تطوفي بالبيت حتى تطهري
“We set out with the Prophet ﷺ, our intention being only Hajj. When we reached Sarif, I began menstruating. The Prophet ﷺ came to me while I was weeping. He ﷺ said: ‘Perhaps you have begun menstruating?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ He ﷺ said: ‘This is something that Allah has decreed for the daughters of Adam. Do whatever the pilgrims do, but do not perform Tawaf around the House until you become pure.'”
This hadith shows that a woman in a state of menstruation may perform all the rites of the pilgrims other than Tawaf around the House of Allah, and when she becomes pure from menstruation, she should perform Tawaf around the House of Allah.
