What Should a Couple Do After Intercourse During Menstruation?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

My husband and I had a marital relationship during my period of confusion.

I saw a brown discharge while urinating, unsure if it was menstruation or a cloth thread. That night, my private part seemed clean, so we had marital relations. The next day, I saw brown discharge in my hand, which made me fear we had sinned.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

If you did not know your period started, as you mentioned, and had a marital relationship, you would not be sinful. However, you should both seek forgiveness and repent to Allah Most High.

Allah Most High says, “And they ask you about menstruation; Say: it is foul, so leave off from women while in their menses, and approach them not until again pure. [Quran, 2:222]

Abu Dhar (Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Verily, Allah has pardoned my nation for their mistakes, their forgetfulness, and what they are coerced into doing.” [Ibn Majah]

It is also prohibited for the husband to touch the area between her navel and knee with skin-to-skin contact, regardless of whether sexual desire is present or not. The back, hips, and thighs are all included in this prohibition.

Skin-to-skin contact with all other areas of the body is permissible, like the chest, back, arms, and calves. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Since it was a genuine accidental fall into something prohibited, don’t fall into guilt; just seek forgiveness, as this will suffice.

And Allah knows best.

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Related Answers

What Is the Ruling on Having Intercourse During Menstruation? – Explains the prohibition of intercourse during menstruation, the need for repentance, and the recommended charity for this transgression.

What Should We Do After We Were Intimate during Menstruation? – Addresses what spouses should do when intercourse occurs mistakenly during menstruation and directs them to the relevant Hanafi and Shafi‘i rulings.

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.