How Would I Know If I Am in a State of Purity after My Period?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
My discharge has turned yellow for a long time now. Even after 15 days of the period, the discharge will remain yellow. After menses, I don’t see any dryness, so I don’t know how to tell if I’m in a state of purity. During Ramadan, after my period, I don’t usually see the brown discharge until after the maghrib. So, I get scared during Ramadan, wondering if I can fast or not.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health.
Normal Vaginal Discharge Drying Yellow
It is possible for normal vaginal discharge to exit the vagina as clear or white but then dry into yellowish color over time.
Dryness After Purity
After a woman finishes her menstruation, her vagina is often dry with hardly any discharge at all. When the discharge returns, it will be thick, pasty, and white in color, like yogurt.
The Intention of Fasting after the Ending of Period
Once your period ends, your vagina will be dry; it does not matter. You can intend to fast as long your period has ended, and it is before the true dawn, which is the beginning of fajr. [Hartford, Birgivi’s Manual Interpreted: Complete Fiqh on Menstruation; Ackbarali, A Muslim Woman’s Guide to Menstruation Rulings]
Advice
I would suggest keeping in contact with a local reliable female scholar who is well-versed in menstruation matters. Attend any on-the-ground and online courses on menstruation. Also, buy books related to the topic.
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 books Coming of Age by Ustadha Hedaya Hartford and A Muslim Woman’s Guide to Menstruation Rulings by Nailelah Ackbarali are very accessible books to learn these rulings. I urge you to buy the latter at your first instance. It is in English and has many practical examples, life experiences, and even illustrative charts to calculate menstruation.
Related: Menstruation: A Comprehensive Reader
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersGuidance?
I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
