What Do I Do During Irregular Bleeding (Istihada)?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I am very confused about irregular bleeding. On some sites, I see that all you have to do is wash the blood at the time of prayer and then do wudu and put something over your private part like a pad. Then I read that you are supposed to block your blood by putting something in your vagina? What would I put in there?
Then I hear there is a difference between little flow, medium flow, or big flow, and then people say you need to figure out if it is continuous or not, but how do I even do that, do I check every single second and after praying then if I see something came out I do wudu again and again and again? And some people say you need to wait until it stops, so do I have to keep checking? then I read that we need to pray differently so no blood comes out. what do I do?
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.
Please ask us what you actually have experienced in your case.
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.
Advice
It is obligatory for every woman to 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 books Woman’s Guide to Menstruation Rulings by Naielah Ackbarali and Coming of Age by Ustadha Hedaya Hartford are very accessible books 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 a first-ever menstruation period tracking app, which is personalized for Muslim women to understand menses, purity, irregular bleeding, lochia, etc., at first glance! The application is in harmony with religious scholarship.
Related:
- How Do I Perform My Missed Prayers and Current Prayers in a State of Irregular Bleeding (Istihada)?
- Menstruation: A Comprehensive Reader – SeekersGuidance
- A Muslim Woman’s Guide To Menstruation Rulings. [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
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.
