Question
As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
Is it necessary to complete forty days after childbirth, or may a woman begin prayer and fasting earlier if she recovers? Is it permissible to do so? It has been observed that some women do not pray but do keep fasts. So should worship only begin after completing forty days?
Answer
When the bleeding stops, she should perform ghusl and pray, even if it stops on the second day. If the postnatal bleeding does not stop, the hadith mentions forty days.
Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “Women in postnatal bleeding used to sit for forty (40) days during the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” (They did not pray or do other things.)
After that, she should perform ghusl and pray, even if the bleeding has not stopped. So in such a case, the ruling for a woman in postnatal bleeding is the ruling for a woman with istihadah, in which the woman performs wudu for every prayer. والله اعلم
