Question:
If a postpartum woman (نفاس والی عورت) becomes pure within a week and observes some fasts during Ramadan, but then experiences bleeding again, should she break her fast? Also, is it obligatory for her to make up for the fasts she observed and those she missed?
Answer:
If a postpartum woman becomes pure within a week and begins fasting, but then experiences bleeding again within forty days, her fasts are not valid. In such a case, she must refrain from both prayer (صلاۃ) and fasting (صوم) during the days of bleeding, as this is considered postpartum bleeding (نفاس). She should not resume fasting and prayer until she becomes pure or completes forty days.
After completing forty days, she must perform ghusl (ritual purification), even if the bleeding has not stopped, because, according to the most correct opinion of scholars, forty days is the maximum period for postpartum bleeding. After this period, if the bleeding continues, she should perform wudu (ablution) for each prayer, just as the Prophet ﷺ instructed for a woman experiencing istihada (prolonged non-menstrual bleeding).
Furthermore, after forty days, it is permissible for her husband to engage in marital relations with her, even if the bleeding persists, as this bleeding is considered istihada (prolonged bleeding) and does not prohibit fasting, prayer, or intimacy. However, if the bleeding reoccurs exactly during her regular menstrual cycle, then she should consider it as menstruation (حیض) and abstain from fasting and prayer during those days.
And success is only from Allah.
– Shaykh Ibn Baz (رحمۃ اللہ علیہ)
