Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Section 3:Haidh (Menstruation or Period)

Haidh is a type of blood that is discharged from the womb of a woman every month. In order to better understandhaidh let us follow the eight simple steps below:

Verification

If the blood seen is other than what is stated below, then it ishaidh .

If the blood is not ofistihadha

If the blood is not ofnifas (blood seen after childbirth)

If the blood is not from a boil or surgery

Signs

Blood seen at the time ofhaidh usually has its own distinctive features:

It is red color or darker, sometimes even black

It is thick

It is warm

It gushes out with force and is accompanied with burning

Ensuring it isHaidh

In order to ensure that the blood seen falls into the category ofhaidh , the following conditions must be met:

The blood seen is not less than 3 days

The blood is seen for 3 days in a row

Continuous flow of blood for 3 days

In the beginning of the cycle (in some cases) blood is visible, later exists internally (for a few days in the vagina) and after some time it starts flowing again.

The total duration ofhaidh is not more than 10 days

The blood is seen by a woman who is older than 9 years according to the lunar calendar (approximately 8 ½ years solar calendar)

The blood is seen by a woman before she goes through menopause*

Between 2 cycles of menstruation, there should be at least a 10-day gap.

Note:Sayyid (Women from the progeny of the Prophet) may get their periods till the age of 60 as per the lunar calendar. NonSayyid may get periods until the age of 50 as per the lunar calendar, as per Islamic Laws.

Categories of women

According to the rules ofhaidh women can be classified into six categories:

Women who have a habit of time and duration: This is a woman who sees blood at a particular date and for a fixed duration, two months in a row.

For example: A woman sees blood on the 10th of March to the 17th of March and then she sees blood on 10th of April to the 17th of April. In this case she can be classified under the category of a ‘woman with a habit of time and duration’.

Women who have a habit of duration: When a woman sees blood on different dates but the duration of the flow is the same. This happens two months in a row.

For example: A woman sees blood on the 10th of March to the 17th of March and then she sees blood on the 12th of April to the 19th of April. In this case she can be classified under the category of ‘Women who have the habit of duration’.

Women who have a habit of time: When a woman sees blood at a particular date but the duration of the discharge varies. This happens two months in a row.

For example: A woman sees blood on the 10th of March to the 17th of March and then she sees blood on 10th of April to the 18th of April. In this case she can be classified under the category of ‘Women who have a habit of time.’

Please Note: In the above examples and in other parts of the book, the Gregorian calendar has been used, as it is more familiar to the western reader. The calculations for women who have a habit of time though, require the date of the Islamic lunar calendar to be consistent.

Mudhtaribah : Disordered duration: When a woman sees blood on different dates and has no fixed duration at all.

Mubtadiyah : Beginner: One who saw blood for the firsttime.

Nasiyah : Forgetful: When a woman forgets her habit, which means that she has forgotten the dates and the duration.

Important Question: When a woman sees blood for 10 days, it is all consideredhaidh (Menses), but if she sees blood for more than 10 days, then what?

If blood is seen for more than 10 days, then she must decide which category (categories of women) she fits in and follow the rules from the ‘Rules for a woman in menses’ that follow: -

Rules for a Woman in Menses

Woman having the habit of time and duration: As was mentioned earlier this is a woman who in the last 2 months has seen blood on a particular date and for a fixed duration. When a woman under this category sees blood for 10 days then it is allhaidh , but if she sees it for more than 10 days then the blood seen during the days of habit is considered part of her period and the rest isistihadha .

Some scenarios of women having a ‘Habit of Time and Duration’

Scenario 1: If a woman in the last 2 months has seen blood for 7 days but this month she sees blood for 10 days, what is her duty? In this situation she should consider all 10 days as ‘haidh ’. As the flow was not more than 10 days.

Scenario 2: If a woman in the last 2 months has seen blood for 8 days (Her habit is 8 days), but this month she sees blood for 13 days, what is her duty? In this situation she should consider the first 8 days as ‘haidh ’ and the 5 extra days as ‘istihadha ’, because the total flow was more than 10 days. When a woman’s menses continues for more than 10 days then the blood seen during the days of her habit ishaidh and the rest isistihadha .

Scenario 3: If a woman in the last 2 months has seen blood between the 10th and 18th BUT this month she saw blood from 7th to 20th, what is her duty? In this situation she should do the following:

7th to 9th………..is istihadha

10th to 18th ….ishaidh

19th to 20th ….isistihadha

Scenario 4: If a woman in the last two months has seen blood between the 10th and 18th BUT this month she saw blood between the 10th and 20th, then what is her duty? In this situation all 10 days is ‘haidh ’, because the flow does not exceed 10 days. This scenario is just like scenario 1.

Woman having the habit of duration: As was mentioned earlier this is a woman who has seen blood for a fixed duration but not for a fixed time (date wise) in the past 2 months. When a woman under this category sees blood for 10 days (and it has all the signs ofhaidh ) then it is allhaidh , but if she sees it for more than 10 days then blood seen during the days of habit of duration is period and the rest isistihadha .

Some scenarios of women who have a ‘Habit of Duration’

Scenario 1: If a woman in the last two months has seen blood for 8 days BUT this month she sees it for 13 days, what is her duty? In this situation she should consider first 8 days as ‘haidh ’ and the rest as‘istihadha ’, because she had a habit of 8 days and this month the flow was more than 10 days.

Scenario 2: If a woman in the last 2 months has seen blood for 8 days BUT this month she sees it for 10 days, what is her duty?

In this situation she should consider all 10 days as ‘haidh ’, as the flow was not more than 10 days.

Woman who have a habit of time: As was mentioned earlier this is a woman who has seen blood on a particular date in the past 2 months but has no fixed duration. When a woman under this category sees blood for 10 days (and it has all the signs ofhaidh ) then it is allhaidh , but if she sees blood for more than 10 days then she must follow the guidelines below:

If the blood seen has signs ofhaidh then the number of days it has the signs ofhaidh is ‘haidh ’, the rest isistihadha . (If the blood has the signs ofhaidh and the same signs remain for 13 days, then it is as if there were no signs)

If the blood has no signs ofhaidh , and the only way the woman knows it ishaidh is because of her habit of time, then she should consult her family, to verify the normal time duration of period experienced by female members of her family. If the majority of the women in her family have similar durations, she should follow their pattern. In this case the normal duration in the family is considered to behaidh , and the remainingdays is istihadha .

If the family members have different durations and it is hard to determine, then a woman must calculate the first 7 days as part of her menses, and the rest asistihadha .

Note: consulting your family for the number of days means to ask your mother, sisters, paternal aunts and maternal aunts, and grandmothers about their blood cycle (menstruation). Asking about their duration, means to ask how many days do they see blood every month?

Some scenarios of women who have a ‘Habit of Time’

Scenario 1: This woman since the last 2 months has seen blood on one particular date but her duration varied. This month she saw blood on the same date but the flow went on for 10 days. In this situation all the ten days are considered to be ‘haidh ’.

Scenario 2: This woman since the last 2 months has seen blood on one particular date but her duration varied. This month she saw blood on the same date but the flow continued for 13 days. If the blood had all the signs ofhaidh for 8 days for example, then this woman should consider 8 days as beinghaidh and the rest asistihadha .

Scenario 3: This woman since the last 2 months has seen blood on one particular date but her duration varied. This month she saw blood on the same date but the flow carried on for 13 days. There were no signs ofhaidh . In this situation this woman should consult her family and if for example her family has a habit of 8 days then this woman should consider 8 days as beinghaidh and 5 days asistihadha .

Scenario 4: This woman since the last 2 months has seen blood on one particular date but her duration varied. This month she saw blood on the same date but the flow carried on for 13 days. There were no signs ofhaidh . In this situation this woman should consult her family and if her family has no particular duration, then she should consider 7 days to behaidh and the restistihadha .

Scenario 5: This woman since the last 2 months has seen blood on one particular date but her duration varied. This month she saw blood on the same date but the flow carried on for 13 days. There were no signs ofhaidh . In this situation this woman should consult her family BUT if she has no family, then she should consider 7 days ashaidh and the restistihadha .

$$SUN[ -Mudhtaribah : Disordered duration]

Mudhtaribah : Disordered duration:

As we mentioned earlier, in the past 2 months when a woman sees blood on different dates and has no fixed duration at all then she is known asMudhtaribah . If she sees blood for more than 10 days then she must follow the guidelines below:

If the blood has signs ofhaidh , then the number of days with signs ishaidh and the rest isistihadha . (If the blood has the signs ofhaidh and the same signs remain for 13 days, then it is as if there were no signs).

If the blood has no signs ofhaidh then the way to calculate the duration is:

A woman should consult her family, to verify the normal time duration of period in the family. Once she has a number. Then she should…

Use the number 7 to calculate the # of days ofhaidh and the # of days of ‘Jum `*’ and the # of days ofistihadha . (This will bemore clear when we get into different scenarios)

Jum `*:Jum ` means following the rules of bothhaidh andistihadha at the same time. In the days ofJum `, a woman cannot do the things that areharam inhaidh , but must do all the things that arewajib (obligatory) inistihadha . Sincesalat is obligatory inistihadha along withghusl (ritual bath) she must performghusl andsalat . Since sex isharam (prohibited) inhaidh then she should refrain from sex.

Some scenarios ofMudhtariba : Disordered Duration

Scenario 1: This woman in the past 2 months has seen blood on different dates and the blood flow did not have a fixed duration. She saw blood for 13 days and out of those 13 days there were 8 days where she saw signs ofhaidh . In this situation she should consider 8 days ashaidh and the rest asistihadha .

Scenario 2: This woman in the past 2 months has seen blood on different dates and the blood flow did not have a fixed duration. Then this month she saw blood for 13 days, and the blood had no signs ofhaidh . In this situation she must consult her family, to verify the normal time duration of ‘haidh ’ in the family. Let us suppose the number of days that make up the normal duration ofhaidh in her family is 5 days. Since 5 days is less than 7 (the number 7 is what we discussed in ‘B’ above), she should follow these guidelines:

The duration of herhaidh is 5 days

The duration of ‘Jum `” is 2 days (Difference between 5 and 7)

The duration ofistihadha is 6 days

Total duration of blood flow is 13 days

Scenario 3: This woman in the past 2 months has seen blood on different dates and the blood flow did not have a fixed duration. This month she saw blood for 13 days. The blood had no signs. In this situation she must consult her family, to verify the normal time duration of ‘haidh ’ in the family. Let us suppose the number of days that is the normal duration ofhaidh in her family is 8 days. Since 8 days is greater than 7 (the number 7 is what we discussed in ‘B’ above), she should follow these guidelines:

The duration of herhaidh is 7 days

The duration of ‘Jum `” is 1 days (Difference between 7 and 8)

The duration ofistihadha is 5 days

Total duration of blood flow 13 days

Scenario 4: This woman in the past 2 months has seen blood on different dates and the blood flow did not have a fixed duration. This month she saw blood for 13 days. The blood had no signs. In this situation she must consult her family, to verify the normal time duration of ‘haidh ’ in the family. Let us suppose the number of days that is the normal duration ofhaidh in her family is 7 days. Since 7 days is the same as 7 (the number 7 is what we discussed in ‘B’ above), she should follow these guidelines:

The duration of herhaidh is 7 days

The duration of ‘Jum `” is 0 days

The duration ofistihadha is 6 days

Total duration of blood flow 13 days

Mubtadiyah : Beginner: This is a woman who sees blood for the first time. Then she is known as “Mubtadiyah ’. If she sees blood for more than 10 days then she should follow the same rules as a woman ‘having the habit of time’ does.

If the blood seen has signs ofhaidh , the number of days it has the signs ofhaidh is ‘haidh ’, and the rest isistihadha . (If the blood has the signs ofhaidh and the same signs remain for 13 days, then it is as if there were no signs).

If the blood has no signs ofhaidh , then a woman should consult her family, to verify the normal time duration ofhaidh in the family. If the majority of women in her family have the same number of days, she should follow their pattern. Then the normal duration in the family is going to behaidh , and the remainingdays is istihadha .

If the family members have different durations and it is hard to determine, then she must calculate according to a 7-day period, the rest beingistihadha .

Note: Consulting your family for the # ofdays means asking your mother, sisters, paternal aunts and maternal aunts, and grandmothers about their blood cycle (menstruation). Asking about their duration, means asking how many days do they see blood every month?

Some scenarios ofMubtadiya : Beginner

Scenario 1: This woman has seen blood for the first time. The blood flow went on for 10 days. In this situation, all the ten days are ‘haidh ’.

Scenario 2: This woman has seen blood for the first time. The blood flow carried on for 13 days. If the blood had all the signs ofhaidh for 8 days for example, but did not have the signs ofhaidh for the last 5 days, then this woman should consider 8 days ofhaidh and the restIstihadha .

Scenario 3: This woman has seen blood for the first time. The blood flow carried on for 13 days. There were no signs ofhaidh . In this situation this woman should consult her family and if for example her family has a habit of 8 days then this woman should consider 8 days as beinghaidh and 5 days asistihadha .

Scenario 4: This woman has seen blood for the first time. The blood flow carried on for 13 days. There were no signs ofhaidh . In this situation this woman should consult her family and if her family has no particular duration, then she should consider 7 days ashaidh and the rest asIstihadha .

Scenario 5: This woman has seen blood for the first time. The blood flow carried on for 13 days. There were no signs ofhaidh . In this situation this woman should consult her family BUT she has no family, then she should consider 7 days ashaidh and the rest asistihadha .

Forgetful:Nasiyah : When a woman forgets her dates and duration she is known as ‘nasiyah ’. If she sees blood for more than 10 days then she should follow these guidelines:

If the blood has signs of ‘haidh ’ and it lasts no more than 10 days then it is all considered ‘haidh ’.

If blood has signs of ‘haidh ’ for 8 days, no signs for 5 days, and the blood flow lasts 13 days, then 8 days ishaidh and 5 days isistihadha .

If blood has no signs at all and the flow lasts 13 days, then she should consider 7 days as ‘haidh ’ and the remaining days as ‘istihadha ’.

Different Types of Menstruation

Type 1: This woman is clean the whole month, only sees blood during the days of menstruation.

Type 2: This woman sees blood (spotting) the whole month, but during the days ofhaidh the blood has signs ofhaidh .

Type 3: This woman is clean the whole month, but during the days ofhaidh , she sees blood for a couple of days, then there is no blood for a day or two, then she sees blood again. If this routine continues for 10 days then it is allhaidh . This is as per Imam Khomeini.

Note: As perAyatullah Seestani the days within the period ofhaidh when one does not see blood should be considered as ‘Jum ` ‘,Ihtiyat -e-Wajib , (please refer glossary for the meaning ofjum ` andIhtiyat -e-Wajib ).

Qadha Salat

Performingsalat isharam while a woman is inhaidh , but as soon as she feels that she is done withhaidh then she should pray within the time forsalat . Below are some problem scenarios and some solutions:

This woman was clean and delayedsalat and then got ‘haidh ’. This woman needs to doQadha for thisSalat when she is done withhaidh,As she did notpray on time that day and she delayed when she could have prayed on time.

This woman had her period and when it stopped, she had just enough time to take the ritual bath and dowudhu and pray. She delayed it, hence the time forSalat passed. She must doQadha Salat , because she had enough time to take the ritual bath,wudhu and pray but she did not.

This woman was clean then she saw blood, so she thought it washaidh . Then later she realized that it was nothaidh . She should doQadha prayers for all the prayers she missed.

Things that areHaram (prohibited) in ‘Haidh ’ (Menses):

Worship for whichwudhu is required, for example:Salat , Fasting, andTawaaf ofKa’aba .

All the actions that areharam in the state ofjanabat :

It’sHaraam to enterMasjid ul Haram andMasjid un Nabi .

Stopping in other mosques and the shrines of Imams isHaraam . Passing through one door and coming out through another door is okay as long as one does not stop in aMasjid or Shrine of Imams.

Placing something in the mosque isHaraam , but picking up something is no problem, according to Imam Khomeini. However as perAyatullah Seestani a woman cannot place something or pick up something while a woman isJunub or when in the state ofHaidh .

Reciting 4surahs that contain theWajib Sajda isHaram :Surah Sajda ,Surah Fussilat ,Surah Al-Najm andSurah Al-Alaq . According to Imam Khomeini, even reciting one word of thesurahs mentioned above in the state ofjanabat orhaidh isharam .

Note:Ayatullah Seestani says that reciting theSurah is not a problem but a woman in the state ofhaidh orjanabat should not recite theayats that have theSajda ewajib in them.Surah Sajda Ayat 15,Surah Fussilat Ayat 38,Surah Al-Najm Ayat 62, andSurah Al-Alaq Ayat 19.

It’sharaam to touch the words of Qur’an with any part of the body.

It’sharaam to touch the names of Allah in any language.

It’sHaraam to touch names of Prophets and Imams andSyeda Fatema (SA).as per Imam Khomeini itsIhtiyat -e-Wajib not to touch the names of the 14 infallibles.

Note: As perAyatullah Seestani its better if a woman does not touch the names of the 14 Infallibles in the state ofjanabat andhaidh .

Miscellaneous Points regardingHaidh

A pregnant or a breast-feeding woman may also seehaidh . Depending on the signs of the blood, if a woman is certain that the blood ishaidh (please refer to point #3 in the section ofhaidh for ways to be certain), then she should follow the rules ofhaidh .

Section 4:Nifas (Blood of Childbirth)

What isNifas ?Nifas is the blood seen after childbirth, or after a miscarriage.

Childbirth: The blood seen as soon as the baby begins to come out of the womb is the blood ofnifas . In other words blood seen during childbirth and after childbirth isnifas .

Note: The blood that a pregnant woman sometimes sees before delivery isistihadha orhaidh depending on the signs but it is notnifas .

Miscarriage: When a woman sees large clots of blood coming out of the womb, and when one is sure that it is a miscarriage. The blood seen in this case is the blood ofnifas .

Nifas can be a maximum of 10 days from the date of delivery or miscarriage. Here is how to calculate the time span ofnifas :

If the blood is seen for 10 days only, then all of it isnifas .

If the blood flow exceeds 10 days, then these guidelines must be followed:

If a woman has a habit of duration during ‘Haidh ’, that means this woman sees blood for a fixed period each month, and this woman delivers a baby and sees blood for more than 10 days, then she must consider the same amount of days asnifas and the rest of the days asistihadha . (Check Scenario 1 below, to get a clear understanding).

If a woman does not have a habit of time or duration duringhaidh , that means she isMudhtaribah , orNasiyah orMubtadiya , then she should consider the first 10 days asnifas and the rest asistihadha .( Check out Scenario 2 below to get a clear understanding).

If a woman has a habit of time and duration duringhaidh , that means this woman sees blood ofhaidh on a specific date each month and for a fixed duration, and then she delivers a baby and sees blood for more than 10 days, then she should consider the same amount of days of her duration of her period asnifas and the rest asistihadha . (Check out scenario 3 below to get a clear understanding).

If a woman has a habit of time duringhaidh , that means this woman sees blood ofhaidh on a specific date each month, and then she delivers a baby and sees blood for more than 10 days, then she should consider the first 10 days asnifas and the rest asistihadha . (Check out scenario 4 below to get a clear understanding).

Scenario 1: This woman sees blood for a fixed duration duringhaidh . She delivered a baby and has been seeing blood for 13 days, is this blood allnifas ? Let us suppose her duration ofhaidh is 8 days, then 8 days will benifas and the remaining 5 days will beistihadha . (Please check Question 1 below for another scenario).

Scenario 2: This woman has no fixed duration and no fixed time when she sees blood duringhaidh . She delivered a baby and has been seeing blood for 13 days, is this blood allnifas ? Since this woman has no habit of duration, then she should consider the first 10 days asnifas and the remaining 3 days asistihadha . (Please check Question 2 below for another scenario).

Scenario 3: This woman has a habit of time and duration duringhaidh that means she sees blood ofhaidh on a specific date each month and for a fixed duration. She delivers a baby and sees blood for 14days., is this blood allnifas ? Let us suppose that her duration ofhaidh is 7 days, then 7 days will benifas and the remaining 7 days will beistihadha . (Please check Question 3 below for another scenario)

Scenario 4: This woman has a habit of time duringhaidh , which means this woman sees blood ofhaidh on a specific date each month. She delivers a baby and sees blood for more than 13 days. Then she should consider the first 10 days asnifas and the remaining 3 days asistihadha . (Please check Question 4 below for another scenario).

Question 1: Keeping scenario 1 in mind, if a woman who has a habit of duration duringhaidh , delivers a baby and sees blood for 30 days, what is the ruling?

Answer: The first 8 days arenifas (her habit of duration ofhaidh in this scenario).

The next 10 days are going to be counted asistihadha .

The next 8 days arehaidh (If it still has the signs ofhaidh . If it does not have the signs ofhaidh , then she must consult her family to see if they had the same pattern after delivery).

The final 4 days areistihadha

Question 2: Keeping scenario 2 in mind, where a woman does not have a habit of time and duration whenhaidh is concerned, if she delivers a baby and sees blood for 30 days, what is the ruling?

Answer: First 10 days arenifas (since she has no habit of time and duration).

The next 10 days areistihadha .

The final 10 days arehaidh (if the blood continues to have the signs ofhaidh . Otherwise if for example, 8 days had signs, then 8 count towardshaidh and 2 toistihadha . If for example, the blood had no signs, then she must contact her family for the number of days of duration ofhaidh ).

Question 3: Keeping scenario 3 in mind, when a woman has a habit of time and duration wherehaidh is concerned – If she delivers a baby on the 1st of the month and sees blood for 30 days, and her habit is that she sees blood on the 10th to 17th every month, what is the ruling?

Answer: The first 7 days arenifas (1st to the 7th, because this woman has a habit of duration too).

The next 10 days areistihadha (8th to 17th even though it is the time of her menses, she should still consider it asistihadha ).

The last 13 days areistihadha (18th to 30th, because this woman has a habit of time too and her time is 10th of the month)

Note: According to the rulings ofAyatullah Seestani in order for a woman in such a case to gethaidh again, she must wait until the 10th of the next month.

Question 4: Keeping scenario 4 in mind that is a woman who has a habit of time only wherehaidh is concerned - If she delivers a baby and sees blood for 30 days, what is the ruling?

Answer: The first 10 days arenifas (Since she has a habit of time only).

The next 10 days areistihadha .

Following days arehaidh if the blood seen now is on the days this woman has a habit of seeing each month. Even if the blood lacks the signs ofhaidh it should still be consideredhaidh if it falls on the specific time. (Check scenario 5 for a clear understanding). If it does not fall on the specific time then it is nothaidh , it isistihadha even though it has the signs ofhaidh . (Check scenario 6 for getting a clear understanding)

Scenario 5: This woman has a habit of time only, wherehaidh is concerned. She used to see blood ofhaidh on the 1st of every month. She delivers a baby on the 10th of this month and sees blood for 40 days. What is the ruling? This scenario has two rulings.

Ruling 1: The first 10 days will benifas ,then the next 10 days is going to beistihadha .Now if this woman sees blood and it falls on the specific date and it has signs ofhaidh and she sees these signs for 8 days. Then the first 10 days arenifas (from the 10th to the 20th of this month). Next 10 days areistihadha (from the 20th to the 30th of this month). Next 8 days arehaidh (from the 1st to the 8th). Last 12 days areistihadha (from the 9th to the20th)

Ruling 2: The first 10 days will benifas ,then the next 10 days will beistihadha . Now if this woman sees blood and it falls on the specific date and it has no signs ofhaidh , because the date is her specific date when she experienceshaidh , it will be consideredhaidh . But since she does not have a habit of fixed duration (there are no signs ofhaidh ), and if the blood seen exceeds 10 days, then she needs to check with her family to get the number of days. Suppose they say the usual number of days is 6. Then,

First 10 days arenifas (from the 10th to the 20th of this month)

Next10 days areistihadha (from the 20th to the 30th of this month)

Next 6 days arehaidh (from the 1st to the 6th)

Last 14 days areistihadha (from the 7th to the20th)

Scenario 6: This woman has a habit of time only, wherehaidh is concerned. She used to see blood ofhaidh on the 1st of every month. If she delivers a baby on the 2nd of this month and sees blood for 32 days. What is the ruling?

First 10 days arenifas (from the 2nd to the 12th of this month)

Next 10 days areistihadha (from the13th to the 23rd of this month)

Next 6 days areistihadha (from the 24th to the 30th)

Last 6 days arehaidh (from the 1st to the 7th depending on if one is certain that it ishaidh )

In scenario 6 aboveistihadha went on for 16 days, because this woman has a habit of time and her time ofhaidh was not till the 1st of the month.

Important Note: All the things that areHaraam (prohibited) for a woman who is inHaidh (menstruating) areHaraam for a woman inNifas .

Section 5: Fasting Related Issues

Fasting andIstihadha

A woman can fast inIstihadha as long as she follows the guidelines for prayers laid down in theistihadha section, as per the rulings of Imam Khomeini.

Note: As perAyatullah Seestani if a woman does not take theghusls for any state ofIstihadha their fasts are valid, but she does have to performghusls for hersalats if needed as per the rulings laid down in theistihadha section.

Fasting andHaidh

Ifhaidh ornifas of a woman stopped and due to various reasons she did not take her Ritual Bath (Ghusl ) and the time for morningAdhaan passed, in this case there are two possibilities depending upon whether it was done forgetfully or it was done deliberately.

If forgetfully:

If she genuinely forgot to performghusl , then her fast is okay, as long as she performsghusl whenever she remembers. Suppose she remembers 2 days later, it is still okay as long as she performs aghusl soon after remembering. The fasts that she has done are all valid.

AfterAdhaan one realizes that herhaidh stopped beforeAdhaan . In this case her fast is valid, as long as she performsghusl soon after remembering.

Haidh of this woman stopped just beforeAdhaan so she did not have time to doghusl ortayammum . In this case her fast is still valid, as long as she takes aghusl soon.

If deliberately:

If a woman deliberately does not performghusl (before the morningadhaan ) then her fast ofRamadhan orQadha Fasts ofRamadhan is void. One may ask, how can someone deliberately not performghusl ?

There are people whoprocrastinate things. Sometimes because of laziness one may deliberately put off performingghusl .

If a woman deliberately does not performghusl before the morningAdhaan , for fasts like: Fast of oath, some other obligatory fasts or recommended fasts, it is okay, as long as shepeforms theghusl soon.

Two very important points to remember regardinghaidh and fasting:

A woman inhaidh cannot fast inRamadhan , but she must make up for the fasts she missed due tohaidh . She should make up the fasts missed due tohaidh with an intention of ‘Qadha ’.

If a woman sees blood ofhaidh , even a few seconds beforeAdhaan ofMaghrib , her fast is void and is not counted, and she must makeQadha for it.

Ramadhan andJanabat

In the month ofRamadhan , if a woman isJunub (a woman becomesjunub due to sexual intercourse, or when she ejaculates) and the time for morningAdhaan arrives, in this case there are two possibilities depending upon whether it was done forgetfully or it was done deliberately.

If forgetfully:

This woman had the intention of getting up early to take the Ritual Bath forJanabat but got up after the morningAdhaan . Since this woman had the intention to take a bath beforeAdhaan but woke up late, her fast is okay.

Thisjunub (a woman who is in a state after sex before performing the ritual bath) knew that she had to take a ritual bath beforeAdhaan . She woke up once or twice but did not perform the ritual bath (for different reasons like laziness etc) and went back to sleep. In this case her fast is void.

If a woman forgets to perform the ritual bath forJanabat , her fast is void.

If a woman kept on procrastinating until there was no time left for Ritual Bath orTayammum (Ablution without water) then her fast is void.

This woman kept on procrastinating until there was no time left for Ritual bath so she should doTayammum (Ablution without water) instead of Ritual bath. Once she doesTayammum she should make an intention (Niyyah ) of fast and later performghusl otherwise her fast is void.

If deliberately:

If a woman deliberately does not take Ritual bath forJanabat , then her fast ofRamadhan orQadha Fasts ofRamadhan are void. One may ask, how can someone deliberately not performghusl ?

There are people whoprocrastinate things. Sometimes because of laziness one may deliberately put off performingghusl .

If one deliberately does not performghusl before the morningAdhaan , for fasts like: Fast of oath, some other obligatory fasts or recommended fasts, it is okay, as long as she performs theghusl soon.