Will Blood That Appears After a Short Gap Be Counted as Menstruation?
Source: Fatawa Arkan al-Islam
A woman completed her menstrual period (ḥayḍ) and performed ghusl. She then prayed continuously for nine days, after which she again experienced bleeding for three days. During these three days, she did not pray. Once she became pure, she prayed for eleven days, and then her regular menstrual period began.
The question is: Should she make up the prayers of those three days, or should those days be counted as menstruation?
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
Whenever menstrual blood appears, it will be counted as menstruation, whether the gap from the previous menstruation is long or short.
◈ If a woman experiences menstruation, then becomes pure after five, six, or ten days, and then bleeding starts again, she will not pray during this second bleeding because it is also considered menstruation.
◈ The woman should always follow this principle:
➤ Whenever menstruation returns after purity, she should leave the prayer.
◈ If bleeding continues without stopping or stops for only a very short time, such a case is called istiḥāḍah (non-menstrual bleeding).
➤ In this case, the woman should only leave the prayer for her habitual menstrual days, and it will be obligatory for her to pray on all other days.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatawa Arkan al-Islam
❖ Question
A woman completed her menstrual period (ḥayḍ) and performed ghusl. She then prayed continuously for nine days, after which she again experienced bleeding for three days. During these three days, she did not pray. Once she became pure, she prayed for eleven days, and then her regular menstrual period began.
The question is: Should she make up the prayers of those three days, or should those days be counted as menstruation?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
Whenever menstrual blood appears, it will be counted as menstruation, whether the gap from the previous menstruation is long or short.
◈ If a woman experiences menstruation, then becomes pure after five, six, or ten days, and then bleeding starts again, she will not pray during this second bleeding because it is also considered menstruation.
◈ The woman should always follow this principle:
➤ Whenever menstruation returns after purity, she should leave the prayer.
❖ Exception – Continuous Bleeding (Istiḥāḍah)
◈ If bleeding continues without stopping or stops for only a very short time, such a case is called istiḥāḍah (non-menstrual bleeding).
➤ In this case, the woman should only leave the prayer for her habitual menstrual days, and it will be obligatory for her to pray on all other days.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
