Does Brown or Red Discharge After White Indicate the End of Menstruation?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
In Birgivi’s book on menstruation, all non-white or non-clear discharge within the possible days of menstruation is considered menstrual blood. However, the hadith from Umm ‘Atiyya states that yellowish and brownish discharge after the white discharge was not considered significant.
If I experience white discharge during menstruation and then see brown/orange or red discharge before reaching the maximum menstruation days, which ruling should I follow? Do these two precepts contradict, and how should I determine my purity in this case?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
The hadith of ‘Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) states that menstruation continues until white discharge appears, meaning yellowish or brownish discharge during the menstrual period is still considered menstruation. However, Umm Atiyya’s (Allah be pleased with her) hadith clarifies that yellowish or brownish discharge after menstruation ends is insignificant.
Ibn Hajar reconciles these by explaining that if such discharge appears within the menstrual days, it is menstruation, but if it appears after menstruation has clearly ended, it is not. [‘Ayni, Umdat al-Qari; Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari]
General Advice—Record Your Menses
A woman’s habit is her body’s usual pattern of when blood and purity are seen during the month and for how many days.
Every woman must record her menses, lochia, and purity habits. The date and time any vaginal blood begins, including the spotting of blood, and the date and time any vaginal blood ends. [Naielah Ackbarali, The Woman’s Guide to Menstruation Rulings]
It is a personal obligation (fard) for every adult woman to learn the basic rules of menstruation and to ask, as you’ve done, in the case of a complicated or unique situation. The following two books: A translation and explanation of Imam Birgivi’s treatise “The Treasure of Families & Women” (Dhukhr al-Muta’ahhilin wa al-Nisa’) on the advanced fiqh of menstruation, lochia, and abnormal bleeding, and “A Muslim Woman’s Guide to Menstruation Rulings” are two good books. They are in English and have many practical examples, life experiences, and even illustrative charts to calculate menstruation. See the links below.
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. Insha’Allah, you will receive guidance and direction.
Related Answers and Links
- How to Calculate the Purity Period between Two …
- What Are the Rulings on Different Vaginal Discharges?
- Istihadha Archives
- Post-Natal Bleeding (Nifas) | White Thread—Menses Matters
- Menstruation: A Comprehensive Reader – SeekersGuidance
- The Treasures of Family and Women
- A Muslim Woman’s Guide to Menstruation Rulings by Naielah Ackbarali (Recommended Book)
- Myhayd App | First Ever Islamic Period Tracking App Personalized For Muslim Women
- Free Fiqh of Menstruation Video Series
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.
