Fiqh of menstruation, nifas and the obligatory bath for husband and wife

1What you will learn

After this lesson, husband and wife should be able to:

1. Distinguish menstruation, nifas and istihadah and their durations according to the Shafi'i school.
2. List what is forbidden and what remains permitted during menstruation and nifas, based on Surah al-Baqarah 2:222 and authentic hadith.
3. Perform the obligatory bath correctly and know when prayers and fasts must be made up.
4. Avoid common mistakes and understand the husband's role in supporting his wife.

2Why the husband must know too

Allah says: "And they ask you about menstruation. Say: It is a harm (a hurt). So keep away from women (do not have intercourse) during menstruation, and do not approach them until they are pure. When they have purified themselves, then come to them as Allah has commanded you…" (Surah al-Baqarah 2:222).

This verse is addressed to the husband. The prohibition and limits on intimacy during menstruation are rulings he himself must obey. As head of the family, the husband is also responsible for ensuring that his wife and daughters gain this knowledge (Surah at-Tahrim 66:6) — by learning together or by giving his wife the opportunity to attend classes.

3Basics: haid, nifas and istihadah

According to the Shafi'i school:

4What is forbidden during menstruation and nifas

For a woman in menstruation or nifas (Shafi'i school):

• Prayer — obligatory and voluntary. Missed prayers do not need to be made up.
• Fasting — invalid and forbidden; Ramadan fasts must be made up.
• Tawaf around the Ka'bah.
• Touching and carrying the mushaf.
• Reciting the Qur'an with the intention of recitation. Dhikr, supplication and reciting verses with the intention of dhikr (e.g. bismillah, supplications from the Qur'an) are permitted. The Maliki school permits a menstruating woman to recite the Qur'an from memory.
• Staying or sitting in the mosque.

For husband and wife:

• Intercourse — forbidden by consensus (ijma') on the basis of 2:222. If it happens, repentance is obligatory; the Shafi'i school states that giving charity is recommended.
• Skin contact between the navel and the knees without a barrier — forbidden according to the authoritative view of the Shafi'i school (also Hanafi and Maliki). The Hanbali school and some Shafi'i scholars (including the preferred view of an-Nawawi) permit it so long as there is no intercourse.
• Pronouncing talaq during menstruation — forbidden (an innovated talaq, talaq bid'i), although according to the majority the talaq still takes effect.

5What remains permitted: intimacy without intercourse

The Jews of Madinah would not eat with a menstruating wife or live under the same roof with her. When this was asked about, 2:222 was revealed and the Prophet ﷺ said: "Do everything except intercourse" (Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Haid).

• 'Aishah r.a. said that when one of the Prophet's ﷺ wives was menstruating and he wished to be intimate with her, he would tell her to wear a waist-wrapper (izar), then be intimate with her (Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Haid; also narrated by al-Bukhari).
• 'Aishah drank from a vessel, then the Prophet ﷺ put his mouth on the same spot — while 'Aishah was menstruating (Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Haid).
• The Prophet ﷺ would recline in 'Aishah's lap and recite the Qur'an while 'Aishah was menstruating (Sahih al-Bukhari 297; Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Haid).

So husband and wife may share a bed, embrace, kiss, eat together and be affectionate — while keeping to the limits above. A menstruating wife may cook, touch her husband and do dhikr.

6The obligatory bath: when and how

The obligatory bath is required when: (1) menstruation ends, (2) nifas ends, (3) after childbirth (wiladah), and (4) in a state of janabah — for husband and wife after intercourse even without ejaculation (Sahih al-Bukhari 291; Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Haid), or upon ejaculation.

Essential elements (Shafi'i school) — only two:

1. Intention when the water first reaches the body, for example: "I intend to bathe to lift the state of menstrual impurity for the sake of Allah Ta'ala" (or post-natal impurity / major impurity).
2. Making the water reach all the skin and hair, including crevices and the roots of the hair.

The sunnah way (based on the description of the Prophet's ﷺ bath — Sahih al-Bukhari 248; Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Haid): wash the hands, wash the private parts and remove impurity, perform wudu', pour water over the head three times while working it into the roots of the hair, then pour water over the body starting with the right side.

For women after menstruation, the Prophet ﷺ taught the use of a little scented cotton to clean traces of blood (Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Haid). Braided hair need not be undone if the water reaches its roots.

7Prayer and fasting: what must be made up

Mu'adhah asked 'Aishah why a menstruating woman makes up her fasts but not her prayers. 'Aishah replied: "That happened to us, and we were told to make up the fasts and not told to make up the prayers" (Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Haid; also narrated by al-Bukhari).

• Bleeding begins after the prayer time has started — if, after the time began, there was enough time to pray (roughly the length of that prayer) but she had not yet prayed, that prayer must be made up after she becomes pure.
• Becoming pure before the prayer time ends — if the bleeding stops and there is still time for the opening takbir (takbiratul ihram) before the time ends, that prayer is obligatory. If she becomes pure during 'Asr, Zuhr is also obligatory; if she becomes pure during 'Isha', Maghrib is also obligatory (because they may be combined).
• Bathe promptly once pure — do not delay until a prayer time is missed.
• Ramadan fasts that were missed must be made up before the following Ramadan.

8Istihadah: irregular bleeding

Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh r.a. had continuous bleeding. The Prophet ﷺ said: "That is only a vein, not menstruation. When your period comes, leave the prayer; when it has passed, wash the blood from yourself and pray" (Sahih al-Bukhari 228; Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Haid).

• A woman with istihadah must pray and fast, and may be intimate with her husband according to the majority.
• For each obligatory prayer: once the time has begun, clean and bind the place the blood comes from, then perform wudu', and pray straight away.
• Distinguishing menstruation from istihadah (by habit, colour and nature of the blood) requires detail. If the bleeding is irregular, consult an ustazah or the religious affairs office and record the dates and nature of the bleeding each month.

9After childbirth: nifas

• Nifas usually lasts 40 days, but a maximum of 60 days according to the Shafi'i school. Blood beyond 60 days is istihadah.
• If the bleeding stops earlier (for example, on day 25), the wife must bathe, pray and fast; marital relations are also permitted after the bath. There is no need to wait 40 days — but give priority to the doctor's advice on the body's recovery.
• Caesarean section: blood that comes from the vagina after the womb is emptied is still nifas.
• Miscarriage: if what comes out is already a clot of blood ('alaqah) or a lump of flesh (mudghah), the blood after it counts as nifas according to the Shafi'i school. When in doubt, consult the religious affairs office.

10Common mistakes

• Delaying the obligatory bath for a day or two after the bleeding stops, and so missing prayers. Once sure the bleeding has stopped, bathe and pray promptly.
• Not making up the prayer whose time had begun before the bleeding started.
• Treating yellowish or murky discharge after purity as menstruation. Umm 'Atiyyah r.a. said: "We did not regard murky and yellowish discharge after purity as anything" (Sahih al-Bukhari 326; the words "after purity" narrated by Abu Dawud 307). Within the usual menstrual period, it counts as menstruation.
• Isolating a menstruating wife — sleeping apart, refusing to eat with her. This was the practice of the Jews of Madinah, which the Prophet ﷺ rejected.
• Baseless beliefs such as it being forbidden to cut the nails or hair during menstruation — there is no evidence forbidding it.
• The husband pressing before the wife has taken the obligatory bath, or the wife hiding her period to avoid intimacy, or the reverse. Honesty is a trust (amanah).
• Delaying making up fasts until the following Ramadan without a valid excuse — according to the Shafi'i school this makes fidyah (compensation) obligatory in addition to making up the fasts.

11Practice

• ☐ The wife records the start and end dates of her period each month (app or calendar).
• ☐ The husband knows the minimum, usual and maximum durations of menstruation and nifas.
• ☐ We know the two essential elements of the obligatory bath and its sunnah way.
• ☐ The wife checks whether any prayer must be made up on the day the bleeding starts and the day she becomes pure.
• ☐ Missed Ramadan fasts are recorded and a plan to make them up is in place.
• ☐ The husband shows affection and helps while his wife is menstruating or in confinement.
• ☐ We do not have intercourse until the wife has taken the obligatory bath.
• ☐ We know where to turn if the bleeding is irregular (ustazah, religious affairs office, doctor).

12Test yourself

Try to answer first before reading the answer.

Sources & references