Maximum Duration of Postnatal Bleeding (Nifās): Consensus and Juristic Differences
Authored by: Imran Ayub Lahori
Maximum Duration of Nifās: 40 Days
➊ It is narrated from Sayyidah Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها):
"كَانَتِ النُّفَسَاءُ تَجْلِسُ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا"
“Women in postnatal bleeding during the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would observe a waiting period of forty days.”
[Hasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 304; Kitāb al-Ṭahārah: Bāb Mā Jāʾa fī Waqt al-Nufasāʾ; Aḥmad 6/300-304; Tirmidhī: 139; Ibn Mājah: 648; Dāraquṭnī 1/221-222; Ḥākim 1/175; Bayhaqī 1/341]
➋ It is narrated from Anas (رضي الله عنه):
"كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَقَّتَ لِلنُّفَسَاءِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا إِلَّا أَنْ تَرَى الطُّهْرَ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ"
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ fixed the period of postnatal bleeding at forty days, unless she attains purity before that.”
[Ḍaʿīf: Ḍaʿīf Ibn Mājah 138; Kitāb al-Ṭahārah wa Sunanihā: Bāb Mā Jāʾa fī al-Nufasāʾ Kam Tajlis; Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 201; al-Ḍaʿīfah 5653; ʿAbd al-Razzāq 1/312; Dāraquṭnī 1/220; Bayhaqī 1/343; Ḥāfiẓ al-Buṣayrī deemed its chain sound in Zawāʾid 1/232]
Consensus View
The majority (jumhūr) of the Companions and the succeeding scholars agreed that the maximum duration of nifās is forty days. This view is held by:
The Shāfiʿī View: Some Shāfiʿī scholars held the maximum to be sixty days, with one narration attributing this also to Imām Mālik.
Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī: He considered fifty days.
Some Others: Seventy days have also been mentioned by certain scholars.
[al-Majmūʿ 2/539; al-Mughnī 1/345; al-Muḥallā 2/203; al-Ifṣāḥ 1/108; Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ 1/41; Marāqī al-Falāḥ p. 23; Mughnī al-Muḥtāj 1/119; Ḥāshiyat al-Bājūrī 1/113; al-Muhadhdhab 1/45; Kashshāf al-Qināʿ 1/226]
Scholarly Consensus (Nawawī, Tirmidhī, Others)
Imām Nawawī stated that most of the Companions, their followers, and later scholars held forty days as the maximum period of nifās.
Imām Tirmidhī and Imām Khaṭṭābī also reported this as the majority’s position.
Imām Khaṭṭābī said: Imām Abū ʿUbaydah stated, “This is the position of the community (ijmāʿ).”
Imām Ibn al-Mundhir also attributed this opinion to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, Ibn ʿAbbās, Anas, ʿUthmān ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ, ʿĀʾidh ibn ʿAmr, Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنهم), Imām al-Thawrī, Abū Ḥanīfah, Abū Yūsuf, Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, Ibn al-Mubārak, Aḥmad, Isḥāq, and Abū ʿUbayd (رحمهم الله).
[al-Majmūʿ 2/524]
Zayd ibn ʿAlī: Nifās does not exceed forty days.
[al-Rawḍ al-Naḍīr 1/513]
Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān: This view is correct.
[al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 1/191]
al-Shawkānī: It is obligatory for a woman in nifās to observe forty days unless she becomes pure earlier.
[Nayl al-Awṭār 1/414]
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Mubārakpūrī: He supports this as well.
[Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī 1/452]
Imām Tirmidhī: This is the consensus of the Companions, Tābiʿīn, and those after them.
[Tirmidhī after ḥadīth 139, Kitāb al-Ṭahārah: Bāb Mā Jāʾa fī Kam Tamkuth al-Nufasāʾ]
If Bleeding Continues After Forty Days
Imām Tirmidhī said: “Most scholars stated that after forty days, she will not leave the prayer.”
[Tirmidhī after ḥadīth 139]
Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Nāṣir al-Saʿdī: If bleeding continues beyond forty days, it will still be treated as nifās.
[Fatāwā al-Marʾah al-Muslimah 1/300]
Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn: If she previously had longer nifās, she should follow that custom; otherwise, scholars differ—some say she becomes like a woman with irregular bleeding (mustaḥāḍah) and should perform ghusl, while others say to wait up to sixty days before considering herself a mustaḥāḍah.
[Fatāwā al-Marʾah al-Muslimah 1/303]
Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm Āl al-Shaykh: If she has a known custom beyond forty days, she should follow that; otherwise, she must perform ghusl after forty days and resume prayers and fasting.
[Fatāwā al-Marʾah al-Muslimah 1/297]
This view seems to be the preferred position. (And Allah knows best.)
No Minimum Duration of Nifās
Like many other related issues, there are differences among the jurists:
Preferred View: The first opinion is correct. There is consensus of the Companions, Tābiʿīn, and later scholars that a woman in nifās is exempt from prayer for up to forty days, unless she attains purity earlier, in which case she must perform ghusl and resume prayer.
[Nayl al-Awṭār 1/414-415]
The hadith explicitly states:
"إِلَّا أَنْ تَرَى الطُّهْرَ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ"
“… unless she attains purity before that,” confirming that there is no minimum duration of nifās.
Further Clarifications
Narrated from Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها):
"وَكَانَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ مِنْ نِسَاءِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ تَقْعُدُ فِي النِّفَاسِ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً، لَا يَأْمُرُهَا النَّبِيُّ ﷺ بِقَضَاءِ صَلَاةِ النِّفَاسِ"
“The women of the Prophet ﷺ would remain in nifās for forty nights, and he would not order them to make up the missed prayers.”
[Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 305; Kitāb al-Ṭahārah: Bāb Mā Jāʾa fī Waqt al-Nufasāʾ; also Aḥmad, Ḥākim, Bayhaqī, Dāraquṭnī]
Consensus on Equivalence of Nifās and Menstruation
Scholars unanimously agree that nifās is governed by the same rules as menstruation in terms of what is lawful, prohibited, disliked, or recommended.
[Nayl al-Awṭār 1/415; al-Majmūʿ 2/520]
Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān: “Nifās is like menstruation in the prohibition of sexual relations and in exemption from prayer and fasting, and there is no disagreement in this.”
[al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 1/192]
al-Shawkānī: “This is the correct view.”
[al-Sayl al-Jarrār 1/150]
Ibn Qudāmah (Ḥanbalī):
“The rulings of a woman in nifās are the same as those of a menstruating woman in all prohibited matters. There is no known difference of opinion on this, because the blood of nifās is the same blood as menstruation—it is simply held back during pregnancy because it nourishes the fetus, and when the fetus is delivered, it resumes its flow.”
[al-Mughnī 1/432]
Authored by: Imran Ayub Lahori
Maximum Duration of Nifās: 40 Days
➊ It is narrated from Sayyidah Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها):
"كَانَتِ النُّفَسَاءُ تَجْلِسُ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا"
“Women in postnatal bleeding during the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would observe a waiting period of forty days.”
[Hasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 304; Kitāb al-Ṭahārah: Bāb Mā Jāʾa fī Waqt al-Nufasāʾ; Aḥmad 6/300-304; Tirmidhī: 139; Ibn Mājah: 648; Dāraquṭnī 1/221-222; Ḥākim 1/175; Bayhaqī 1/341]
➋ It is narrated from Anas (رضي الله عنه):
"كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَقَّتَ لِلنُّفَسَاءِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا إِلَّا أَنْ تَرَى الطُّهْرَ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ"
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ fixed the period of postnatal bleeding at forty days, unless she attains purity before that.”
[Ḍaʿīf: Ḍaʿīf Ibn Mājah 138; Kitāb al-Ṭahārah wa Sunanihā: Bāb Mā Jāʾa fī al-Nufasāʾ Kam Tajlis; Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 201; al-Ḍaʿīfah 5653; ʿAbd al-Razzāq 1/312; Dāraquṭnī 1/220; Bayhaqī 1/343; Ḥāfiẓ al-Buṣayrī deemed its chain sound in Zawāʾid 1/232]
Consensus View
The majority (jumhūr) of the Companions and the succeeding scholars agreed that the maximum duration of nifās is forty days. This view is held by:
- ʿAlī, ʿUthmān, ʿUmar, ʿĀʾishah, Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنهم)
- Imām ʿAṭāʾ, Imām al-Thawrī, Imām al-Shaʿbī, Imām al-Muzanī, Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, Imām Mālik, and Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (رحمهم الله أجمعين)
The Shāfiʿī View: Some Shāfiʿī scholars held the maximum to be sixty days, with one narration attributing this also to Imām Mālik.
Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī: He considered fifty days.
Some Others: Seventy days have also been mentioned by certain scholars.
[al-Majmūʿ 2/539; al-Mughnī 1/345; al-Muḥallā 2/203; al-Ifṣāḥ 1/108; Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ 1/41; Marāqī al-Falāḥ p. 23; Mughnī al-Muḥtāj 1/119; Ḥāshiyat al-Bājūrī 1/113; al-Muhadhdhab 1/45; Kashshāf al-Qināʿ 1/226]
Scholarly Consensus (Nawawī, Tirmidhī, Others)
Imām Nawawī stated that most of the Companions, their followers, and later scholars held forty days as the maximum period of nifās.
Imām Tirmidhī and Imām Khaṭṭābī also reported this as the majority’s position.
Imām Khaṭṭābī said: Imām Abū ʿUbaydah stated, “This is the position of the community (ijmāʿ).”
Imām Ibn al-Mundhir also attributed this opinion to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, Ibn ʿAbbās, Anas, ʿUthmān ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ, ʿĀʾidh ibn ʿAmr, Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنهم), Imām al-Thawrī, Abū Ḥanīfah, Abū Yūsuf, Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, Ibn al-Mubārak, Aḥmad, Isḥāq, and Abū ʿUbayd (رحمهم الله).
[al-Majmūʿ 2/524]
Zayd ibn ʿAlī: Nifās does not exceed forty days.
[al-Rawḍ al-Naḍīr 1/513]
Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān: This view is correct.
[al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 1/191]
al-Shawkānī: It is obligatory for a woman in nifās to observe forty days unless she becomes pure earlier.
[Nayl al-Awṭār 1/414]
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Mubārakpūrī: He supports this as well.
[Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī 1/452]
Imām Tirmidhī: This is the consensus of the Companions, Tābiʿīn, and those after them.
[Tirmidhī after ḥadīth 139, Kitāb al-Ṭahārah: Bāb Mā Jāʾa fī Kam Tamkuth al-Nufasāʾ]
If Bleeding Continues After Forty Days
Imām Tirmidhī said: “Most scholars stated that after forty days, she will not leave the prayer.”
[Tirmidhī after ḥadīth 139]
Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Nāṣir al-Saʿdī: If bleeding continues beyond forty days, it will still be treated as nifās.
[Fatāwā al-Marʾah al-Muslimah 1/300]
Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn: If she previously had longer nifās, she should follow that custom; otherwise, scholars differ—some say she becomes like a woman with irregular bleeding (mustaḥāḍah) and should perform ghusl, while others say to wait up to sixty days before considering herself a mustaḥāḍah.
[Fatāwā al-Marʾah al-Muslimah 1/303]
Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm Āl al-Shaykh: If she has a known custom beyond forty days, she should follow that; otherwise, she must perform ghusl after forty days and resume prayers and fasting.
[Fatāwā al-Marʾah al-Muslimah 1/297]
This view seems to be the preferred position. (And Allah knows best.)
No Minimum Duration of Nifās
Like many other related issues, there are differences among the jurists:
- Shāfiʿī and Aḥmad: No minimum duration for nifās.
- Abū Ḥanīfah and Abū Yūsuf: Minimum is eleven days.
- al-Thawrī: Three days.
- Zayd ibn ʿAlī: Fifteen days.
- Ibn Qudāmah (Ḥanbalī): No minimum duration; whenever she attains purity, she must perform ghusl and is considered pure.
[al-Umm 1/64; al-Majmūʿ 1/228; al-Mughnī 1/225; al-Aṣl 1/458]
Preferred View: The first opinion is correct. There is consensus of the Companions, Tābiʿīn, and later scholars that a woman in nifās is exempt from prayer for up to forty days, unless she attains purity earlier, in which case she must perform ghusl and resume prayer.
[Nayl al-Awṭār 1/414-415]
The hadith explicitly states:
"إِلَّا أَنْ تَرَى الطُّهْرَ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ"
“… unless she attains purity before that,” confirming that there is no minimum duration of nifās.
Further Clarifications
Narrated from Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها):
"وَكَانَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ مِنْ نِسَاءِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ تَقْعُدُ فِي النِّفَاسِ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً، لَا يَأْمُرُهَا النَّبِيُّ ﷺ بِقَضَاءِ صَلَاةِ النِّفَاسِ"
“The women of the Prophet ﷺ would remain in nifās for forty nights, and he would not order them to make up the missed prayers.”
[Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 305; Kitāb al-Ṭahārah: Bāb Mā Jāʾa fī Waqt al-Nufasāʾ; also Aḥmad, Ḥākim, Bayhaqī, Dāraquṭnī]
Consensus on Equivalence of Nifās and Menstruation
Scholars unanimously agree that nifās is governed by the same rules as menstruation in terms of what is lawful, prohibited, disliked, or recommended.
[Nayl al-Awṭār 1/415; al-Majmūʿ 2/520]
Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān: “Nifās is like menstruation in the prohibition of sexual relations and in exemption from prayer and fasting, and there is no disagreement in this.”
[al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 1/192]
al-Shawkānī: “This is the correct view.”
[al-Sayl al-Jarrār 1/150]
Ibn Qudāmah (Ḥanbalī):
“The rulings of a woman in nifās are the same as those of a menstruating woman in all prohibited matters. There is no known difference of opinion on this, because the blood of nifās is the same blood as menstruation—it is simply held back during pregnancy because it nourishes the fetus, and when the fetus is delivered, it resumes its flow.”
[al-Mughnī 1/432]
