Is My Bleeding in Ramadan a New Cycle or Irregular Bleeding?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
After six months of irregular bleeding due to an IUD, I resumed an eight-day cycle. During Ramadan, I bled again mid-month for two days, then stopped for three. Should I treat this as a new menstrual cycle or irregular bleeding?
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.
You will treat this abnormal bleeding as irregular bleeding (istihada).
In the Hanafi School, a woman who is experiencing abnormal continuous bleeding (istihada) is required to carry out her obligatory worship and pray, fast, recite the Quran and touch it, enter a mosque, perform Tawaf with wudu, and have intimacy with her husband, as normal.
[Birgivi, Dhukhr al-Muta’ahhilin]
Menstrual Habit During Hajj Days
In general, if a woman’s menses begin during the days of Hajj, she will perform all the rites and obligations of Hajj besides Tawaf; she will delay her Tawaf until after her menstrual cycle.
Hence, a woman who is experiencing her menses and is unable to perform her Visitation Tawaf (Tawaf Ziyara) should delay and ensure that she performs her Tawaf Ziyara before returning, even if it means she will have to change her reservations. If this is not possible, she should try to use other methods to stop her menses, for example, taking pills, with the consultation of a reliable, experienced Muslim Doctor. If she returns home without performing Tawaf Ziyara, she will remain in the state of Ihram, and all marital relations with her spouse will be forbidden. If she performs her Tawaf while she is in the condition of menses, she will have to give to slaughter one camel, and make an abundance of Istighfar.
As regards the Farewell Tawaf (Tawaf al-Wida), if she experiences her menses and is unable to perform her Tawaf al-Wida, it will no longer be necessary (wajib), and the last Tawaf she performed will be regarded as Tawaf al-Wida.
Note
Below are links to possible scenarios during the Hajj days. Please read through them and act accordingly.
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. In sha 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
- Menstruation: A Comprehensive Reader – SeekersGuidance
- The Treasures of Family and Women
- A Muslim Woman’s Guide To Menstruation Rulings: Amazon.co.uk: Ackbarali, Naielah: 9781739599911: Books (Detailed Edition -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
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersAcademy (seekersguidance.org)
I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received a 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.
