Should I Make Up Fasts Because I Was Not Using a Kursuf?
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
I used to not check whether my period was done by inserting cotton I would just wait until I didn’t see blood on my pad because I didn’t know about it. But does this mean that during Ramadan, when I did this, I actually did ghusl too early? What does this mean for the rest of my fasts? do i have to make up those fasts? And i dont know how many that is?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
I pray this finds you in the best of states.
Yes, it is true that you may have missed a few days of fasting because you didn’t use a kursuf. But you don’t have to make up any fast because there is no way to be sure that you were not menstruating despite not fasting while assuming that your menstruation was not over. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]
The problem with using pads alone is that it allows a white discharge (indicating the end of the bleeding) to change color due to oxidization due to the air between the private parts and the pad.
This will make you mistakenly think that the bleeding is longer than its real duration.
Thus, this means that it is possible that you were delaying your ghusl too much, not fasting when you should have fasted.
Using a Kursuf will prevent oxidization to disturb your calculations.
Please see this answer for more details:
The Principle Used in This Answer
“Certainty is not lifted by a doubt.” [Ibn Nujaym, al-Ashbah wa al-Nadha’ir; Majallat al-Ahkam al-‘Adiliyya]
We were certain that you were menstruating, and we have doubts about whether your menstruations had finished earlier than what you were thinking. We apply the above principle and assume that your menstruation was not finished before the time you thought it was.
This principle is based on the following verse of the Quran:
“Most of them follow nothing but conjectures. Surely, conjectures are of no avail in the matter of truth at all.” [Quran, 10:36]
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.
