What Is the Ruling on Yellow Discharge before and after Periods?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I cannot distinguish between yellow discharge on regular days and after and before periods. I get the normal discharge during pure days, and to the naked eye, it appears whitish. However, on cotton and tissue, it seems a bit yellow.
I get doubts before and around the end of menses as it appears slightly yellow even to the naked eye.
I tried using Kursuf, but it irritated me. So I let the discharge dry on a cloth. And it exists yellow and dries yellow. I took ghusl. There were no other signs of purity. I should have paid more attention to this.
I’m in my 20s. I stop praying when I notice a red discharge (it’s a habit). So I took the ghusl on the 9th day and could not check with female family members.
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.
Discharge Exits Yellow
If the discharge exits yellow on the kursuf and dries white, then the discharge is considered yellow. This means that it is blood and takes the legal consequences of blood.
If seen within the possible days of menstruation, yellow takes the ruling of menstrual blood, and a woman is still deemed menstruating.
If seen within a time of purity, yellow is ruled as abnormal uterine bleeding (istiḥada), and a woman follows its related rulings.
Seeing Red Discharge
Once you notice blood during your possible menstrual habit days, you will stop praying until your monthly habit ends. [Ackbarali, A Muslim Woman’s Guide to Menstruation Rulings]
Advice
I advise keeping in contact with a local reliable female scholar who is well-versed in menstruation matters. Attend any on-the-ground and online courses on menstruation. Also, 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 “A Muslim Woman’s Guide To Menstruation” by Nailelah 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! Get The app is in harmony with religious scholarship.
Related:
- Menstruation: A Comprehensive Reader
- Myhayd.app | First Ever Islamic Period Tracking App Personalized For Muslim Women | Hayd Tuhr Istihadah Nifaas Pregnancy
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.
