Should I Perform Ghusl After Seeing Slight Clear Discharge?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I have an irregular cycle with 8 days. Yesterday, I saw light pink discharge before Asr and a white discharge with pink strands after Maghrib, so I broke my fast and did not pray. Today, I have only seen a slight, clear discharge.
Should I perform minor or major purification and resume fasting and prayer, or am I still in a state of impurity?
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.
If you are confident that today’s discharge is clear with no traces of pink, brown, or yellow, you have likely reached a state of purity:
- Perform ghusl (major purification).
- Resume prayer and fasting.
- If unsure whether the discharge still contains pinkish strands, wait until you are certain. You can check this by using a white cloth or tissue.
- If any colored discharge appears later in the day that resembles menstrual blood, it indicates that your period is still ongoing.
Since today’s discharge is clear, you may consider yourself pure, perform ghusl, and resume worship. However, if colored discharge returns, you may need to reassess again. [Ibn ‘Abidin/Birgivi, Dhukr al-Muta’ahhilin wa’l-Nisa’ wa Sharhuhu Manhal al-Waridin (Hartford edition)]
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
Paid Courses
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 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.
