What Discharge Is Considered to Be Blood in Menstruation?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

I have irregular monthly cycles, so I could go two months or more without menses, or it could come at a normal time. It usually lasts for 5-6 days. This month, after 36 days of purity, I saw brown blood in my vaginal discharge, but there were no cramps, so I continued to pray. It soon began to clear up and become lighter in color, and maybe it became completely clear, but I’m not sure of that.

After that, it became red & brown vaginal discharge, and I still continued to pray because of the absence of cramps. Today I woke up and while answering the call of nature, a very thick dark red discharge (almost black) came out, and now it’s become red, but still no signs of menses. Is this istihada? Note these discharges smell like ammonia (not very foul like hayd)

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Short Answer

In short, any colored discharge (excluding white or clear discharge) that is seen is considered blood and added to the full cycle with which the menstrual cycle is determined. [Birgivi, Dhukhr al-Muta’ahhilin]

Once you see such a colored discharge after a minimum of 15 days of purity (in your case, you had 36 days of purity), you will act in the moment as if it were menstruation and stop praying. [Ibid.]

Full Answer

The following criteria are pertinent for every Muslim woman to know and to use when keeping track and calculating their menstrual cycles. [Ibid.]

1. What is considered blood?

All colored discharge (excluding white or clear discharge) is legally considered blood. [Ibid.]

Note that if her pad is placed improperly or a significant amount of time has lapsed, white discharge can appear yellow or light brown due to oxidation. Its ruling is not that of legal blood, as its original color was white [Ibid.]

2. How are cycles counted?

Once a colored discharge is seen, she must keep track of the day and time of its occurrence to the best of her ability. [Ibid.]

Cycles are calculated by counting the cumulative time that has lapsed between all instances of blood, unless 15 full days of purity (i.e., no colored discharge) elapse. [Ibid.]

If 15 full days elapse, any cases of bleeding that occurred before that are not combined with any cases that occur thereafter. Any new instances after that 15-day purity period are added to a brand-new cycle’s calculations. [Ibid.]

3. What factors have no bearing on the menstrual cycle?

Although it is common, factors such as cramps, hot flashes, changes in mood, etc, are of no legal significance when calculating menstrual cycles. [Ibid.]

Menstruation (Hayd) is blood that cumulatively adds up to be between a minimum of 3 (72 hours) to a maximum of 10 (240 hours) days. [Ibid.]

Postnatal or post-childbirth bleeding is blood that cumulatively adds up to be between 0 to 40 days (without any 15-day purity within that time to interrupt the calculation). [Ibid.]

Irregular bleeding (istihada) is any blood that does not meet the above conditions. Namely, if after calculating the cumulative amount of bleeding it adds up to less than 3 days, more than 10 days (in menstruation), more than 40 days (in post-natal bleeding), etc [Ibid.]

Advice

I strongly encourage you to get a copy of the book, Coming of Age, by Hedaya Hartford. It is a very good work and is very practical and user-friendly. Also, please see this link for other answers related to the rulings of menstruation.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he went on to study at Darul Uloom Seminary in New York and completed his studies at Darul Mustafa in Tarim, Yemen.

There, he completed the memorization of the Quran and his study of Islamic Sciences. Throughout his years of study, he was blessed to learn from many great scholars: Habib Umar bin Hafiz, Habib Kazhim al-Saqqaf, Shaykh ‘Umar bin Husayn al-Khatib, and others.

Upon returning, he joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.