How Do I Know for Certain If My Bleeding Counts as a Period and Not Something Else?


Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question

I am currently undergoing a miscarriage. My miscarriage process has not completed yet (i.e. my hcg pregnancy hormones are still present inside me) and my current bleeding is similar to being on the 4/5th day of period. I am not sure if this bleeding is part of the period or not, and whether the blood that is currently exiting is impure or not.

My question is, do I consider this to be part of my period and hence I should stop praying, or do I continue praying now assuming this is not period?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate.

I hope you’re doing well, insha’Allah. May Allah grant you ease and strength in this. Such trials from Allah (Most High) are the trials of those whom Allah loves.

The miscarried fetus will be a child of yours in Paradise; prays for you while you are alive; and will intercede for you on the Day of Judgment. Please find related answers in the SeekersGuidance Answers

The Prophet Muhammad (Blessings and peace be upon him) is quoted as saying, “The miscarried fetus would lead his mother, by his umbilical cord, to Paradise, should she hope the reward for that (miscarriage) from Allah (Most High).” [Ahmad and Ibn Maja]

The key to

Do You Need to Pray: Yes…

Until half or more of the fetus exits your body, what you experience is considered irregular discharge (istihada). You would still make wudu and pray, as able. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Also, remember the beautiful promise of the Prophet (Blessings and peace be upon him). “No calamity befalls a Muslim but that Allah expiates some of his sins because of it, even if it is a prick he receives from a thorn” [Bukhari; Muslim]

Related

And Allah is the giver of success and facilitation.
[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus and then in Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), and his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of “Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004).” Since 2011, the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center has named Shaykh Faraz one of the 500 most influential Muslims.