❖ What Should a Woman Do If Menstruation Begins During Ramadan?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
What should a woman do if her menstruation (ḥayḍ) begins during Ramadan?
❖ Answer:
If a woman begins menstruating during Ramadan, she must not fast for the number of days she remains in that state.
She is required to make up (qaḍāʾ) those missed fasts after Ramadan.
Fasting is not permitted during menstruation.
❀ Sayyidunā Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
أَلَيْسَ إِذَا حَاضَتْ لَمْ تُصَلِّ وَلَمْ تَصُمْ؟
“Is it not that when a woman menstruates, she does not pray and does not fast?”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 304, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 79❀ Maʿādhah رحمه الله narrated the following discussion with Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها:
قُلْتُ: فَمَا بَالُ الْحَائِضِ تَقْضِي الصَّوْمَ وَلَا تَقْضِي الصَّلَاةَ؟ فَقَالَتْ: أَحَرُورِيَّةٌ أَنْتِ؟ قُلْتُ: لَسْتُ بِحَرُورِيَّةٍ، وَلَكِنِّي أَسْأَلُ، قَالَتْ: كَانَ يُصِيبُنَا ذَلِكَ، فَنُؤْمَرُ بِقَضَاءِ الصَّوْمِ، وَلَا نُؤْمَرُ بِقَضَاءِ الصَّلَاةِ
I asked, “Why does a menstruating woman make up her fasts but not her prayers?”
She replied, “Are you from the Khawārij (Ḥarūriyyah)?”
I said, “No, I am not one of them. I am only asking a question.”
She replied, “This used to happen to us, and we were commanded to make up the fasts, but not the prayers.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 321, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 335✔ Imām Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله (d. 463 AH) stated:
“There is consensus (ijmāʿ) among the Ummah that a woman may not fast during menstruation, and she is required to make up the missed fasts afterward. As for the missed prayers, they are not to be made up. Praise be to Allah, there is no difference of opinion on this issue.”
al-Tamhīd: 22/107
Summary:
① A menstruating woman must not fast during Ramadan,
② She is required to make up missed fasts afterward,
③ She is not required to make up missed prayers,
④ This ruling is based on authentic ḥadīths and scholarly consensus,
⑤ If menstruation begins during a fast, that day's fast is invalid, and she must make it up later.
