Should Women Wake Up Before Isha Time Ends to Determine Whether Their Period Has Ended or Not?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

Should a woman wake up ‘before’ the start of Fajr to check if her menses have ended or not to pray Isha, or is it sufficient for her to just check before going to bed at night and then wake up before the ‘end’ of Fajr to see if she has to pray Fajr? Jazak Allah.

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.

Generally, a woman is not obligated to check herself frequently; however, when she knows she is towards the end of her menstrual days, she must check before each prayer time whether she is clean now and whether the current prayer is obligatory on her.

This is because if a woman becomes pure before the current prayer time ends and has enough time to do ghusl and pray, the current prayer becomes obligatory.

Therefore, she must ensure she checks with enough time to do ghusl and pray within the preferred time if needed. This can Also, the best method of checking the end of menses is with a Kursuf (a form of cotton cloth placed between the labia minora at the opening of the vagina) rather than a pad or panty liner.

When the end is pending, she is obliged to check the Kursuf- which must have been placed correctly- before the end of the prayer time so that she has time to take a bath and pray at its preferred time. [Hartford, Birgivi’s Manual Interpreted]

Advice

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.

I advise contacting a local reliable female scholar who is well-versed in menstruation matters. Also, try to attend any on-the-ground and online courses on menstruation. Also, at your first instance, buy books related to the topic; some are in the link below.

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 book, Woman’s Guide to Menstruation Rulings by Naielah Ackbarali, is a very accessible to learn these rulings. They are in English and have many practical examples, life experiences, and even illustrative charts to calculate menstruation.

Also, you can download the first-ever menstruation period tracking app, which is personalized for Muslim women. This app helps you understand menses, purity, irregular bleeding, lochia, etc., at first glance! The application is in harmony with religious scholarship.

Check the related links:
How Can I Know the End of My Menstrual Period? – SeekersGuidance
How Can I Judge When My Menstrual Period Has Ended? – SeekersGuidance
Menstruation: A Comprehensive Reader – SeekersGuidance
A Muslim Woman’s Guide To Menstruation Rulings: Amazon.co.uk: Ackbarali, Naielah (Recommended book)
Coming of Age by Hedaya Hartford (Recommended book)
myhayd.app | First Ever Islamic Period Tracking App Personalized For Muslim Women | Hayd Tuhr Istihadah Nifaas Pregnancy
FREE Fiqh of Menstruation Video Series

Paid courses:
Basic Fiqh of Menstruation
Fiqh Of Menstruation For Women

Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersAcademy (seekersguidance.org)?

[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.