What Should I Do If I Keep Seeing Coloured Discharge after My Ritual Bath? – Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

I keep having problems whenever my period is about to end. Today is the sixth day of my period which is uncommon but during the evening I waited and I saw nothing so I did ghusl. After praying Dhuhr and `Asr, I checked to see if there was anything red and I saw a discharge. It was not red but more a light brown which was seen immediately after prayers. Do I wait for it to be gone or do I continue praying?

Answer

Thank you for your question. May Allah reward you for asking to seek clarity about your period and may he make it easy for you to learn and apply the basic rules of menstruation in the future.

Clear or white

Brown is considered one of the colours of menstruation and you should only take a ritual bath when you see clear, white, or dryness. From your description, I feel that you are taking your ritual bath too soon; a period can go up to 15 days in our School. It seems that you should wait another day or two (or more) until it is completely clear and stays clear. Don’t rush it. As such, your prayers did not count. If you had fasted on those days, they would have been invalid.

Please see these resources to review the basics:

The Fiqh of Menstruation (Shafi’i Fiqh)

Do Brown Dots Count as Menstruation Blood?

Does Brown, Rosy and Yellow Discharge Invalidate My Fast?

May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.

[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad 
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied Aqidah, Fiqh, Tajweed, Tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Master’s in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied Fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.