Seeds Of Realisation

Part 1

Puberty

ISSUE 1
According to Sharî’ah (Islamic law) when a person attains puberty he/she is said to have become Bâligh [matured]. No girl becomes Bâligh before the age of nine years. (NB. Only lunar months and years are taken into consideration in Islâmic matters, therefore, only lunar months and years are meant wherever these words appear.)

ISSUE 2
A girl is said to be Bâligh if she experiences any of the following:

The monthly Period (Menstruation – Menstruation) after the age of nine years. She enjoys intercourse in her dream and the mani [seminal fluid] is discharged.
She has no menstruation, but becomes pregnant.

ISSUE 3
If the above signs are not evident but the girl reaches the age of fifteen years, she will also be regarded as having reached the age of puberty.

ISSUE 4
On reaching the age of puberty, all the principles of Islâm, such as prayer [salah], saum [fasting], etc. become Fardh [obligatory] on her. If she disobeys or neglects any, then she becomes a sinner.

ISSUE 5
If a girl attains puberty before the age of fifteen and experiences ihtilâm [nocturnal wet dream] it would become wâjib [obligatory] upon her to have ghusl [bath].

Menstruation

ISSUE 1
The bleeding which a woman generally gets every month is called menstruation and Islâm has prescribed special laws for it.

ISSUE 2
A girl below the age of nine years does not normally get periods. If such a girl notices blood, it is not menstruation, but chronic discharge (istihada) meaning bleeding due to some illness.

ISSUE 3
Normally a woman does not menstruate after the age of fifty-five but if she gets absolutely red or black blood, it is menstruation; however, if, the blood is yellow, green or muddy – coloured, it is not menstruation provided she never got this type of blood during her earlier periods. If she did get this type of blood during her earlier periods, then this would also be counted as menstruation. If the colour of the blood is different from that of the blood during her earlier periods, then this is not menstruation but chronic discharge (istihada).

ISSUE 4
In order to protect her body and clothes from impurity during periods it is mustahab [preferable] and sunnah for a woman to use cotton wool, sanitary pads or a piece of old, used clothing to cover her private parts. The use of tampons is disliked.

ISSUE 5
The colour of the pad when wet is the deciding factor that will help to determine whether the bleeding is menstruation or chronic discharge (istihada). For example, if the pad is red when wet and white after drying, then it is a sign of menstruation; if it is white when wet and yellow after drying, then it is not menstruation, but chronic discharge (istihada).

ISSUE 6
If during menstruation, there is some sign of whiteness in the blood or if the blood is more reddish in colour, then it is menstruation; if it is more whitish in colour, then it is chronic discharge (istihada).

 

ISSUE 7
If a woman is sure that the flow of blood is not from the vagina, but from some wound or from the anus, then the bleeding is not menstruation, but chronic discharge (istihada).
ISSUE 8
As soon as the blood appears on the area immediately outside the vagina, menstruation has started even if blood does not flow out beyond this. If someone keeps cotton wool or something similar inside the vagina which prevents the blood from flowing out, then as long as the blood remains inside the vagina and not a single drop is seen on the outside end of the cotton wool, etc., then this is not yet regarded as menstruation. The time of menstruation will only start when blood comes out on the skin immediately outside the vagina or when the cotton wool, etc. is removed from the vagina and it is found to be stained with blood.

ISSUE 9
If a woman who is ritually pure puts on sanitary pads, etc. at night and in the morning when she removes it, she finds it to be blood-stained, then her menstruation starts only at the time when she notices the blood.

ISSUE 10
If a menstruating woman notices no sign of blood on her pad, then the clean period will be counted right from the time the pad was put on.

ISSUE 11
It is disliked (makruh) for a menstruating woman to bath a dead person.

ISSUE 12
A woman experiencing menstruation or post-natal bleeding (nifàs) or any person in a state of major ritual impurity (janaba) should excuse herself/himself from the place where the deceased is laid.

Few Issues Regarding Ritual ablution (wudu)

 

ISSUE 1
If flour gathers underneath the nails and it dries up, then it is necessary that water penetrates through when making ritual ablution (wudu) or ghusl. If the water does not pass through, then the ritual ablution (wudu) or ghusl would be considered not performed (in complete). If nail polish (cutex, etc.) were applied onto the nails, then ritual ablution (wudu) or ghusl would not be complete until it is removed.

ISSUE 2
A sticky fluid, resembling mucus, which flows from the vagina due to some illness, is impure and this causes only the ritual ablution (wudu) to break.

ISSUE 3
If the sex organ of the husband touches the sex organ of the wife without any covering in between, then the ritual ablution (wudu) of both will break.

ISSUE 4
Ritual ablution (wudu) will not break if anyone sees his/her private parts or glances at the private parts of someone else. But it should be remembered that it is sinful to unnecessarily look at the private parts of another person.

ISSUE 5
If water comes out from the breast and there is pain too, then it is impure and ritual ablution (wudu) will break. If there is no pain then it is clean and ritual ablution (wudu) does not break.

ISSUE 6
When performing ritual ablution (wudu) one should ensure that the elbows, heels and ankles are wet, otherwise the ritual ablution (wudu) will remain incomplete.

ISSUE 7
If water does not penetrate under the finger ring, then it is wâjib to shake it when performing ritual ablution (wudu) and if it is loose and water reaches there, then it is mustahab to shake it.

Part 2

Points to Remember and Important Notes on Actual Prayer Times

The minimum period for menstruation is three days and three nights (seventy-two hours). If bleeding is for less than this period (seventy-two hours), it is not menstruation, but chronic discharge (istihada). {According to the Shafi’î Madhab the minimum period of menstruation is one day and one night (twenty four hours.)}

Continuous flow of blood is not necessary. If blood flowed for a while in the beginning, then stopped, and flowed again on the second or third day, then according to Sharî’ah it is regarded as one continuous menstrual flow.

The maximum period of menstruation is ten days and ten nights (two hundred and
forty hours.) Bleeding beyond this is not menstruation, but chronic discharge (istihada).
{The maximum period is fifteen days and fifteen nights according to the Shafi’î Mazhab.}

According to the Sharî’ah, the minimum period of remaining clean between two menstruation is fifteen days and there is no limit to the maximum period. A woman is considered ritually pure for as long as she does not experience menstruation even if it were for months.

As far as menstruation and post-natal bleeding (nifàs) [bleeding after childbirth] are concerned Islâm takes into consideration a woman’s habit.

A Mubteda – One who has not expreinced either before (Neither menses nor nifaas)

A Motada – One who has experienced one or both before.

Laws for both are different in many instances according to Imâm Abû Hanifa (R.A.).

Purity and impurity are of two kinds, ‘

HAQÎQI’ and ‘HÛKMI’.

Sometimes a woman bleeds but Sharî’ah does not regard it as menstruation. This is called Hûkmi purity. For example if a mubtadeah bleeds for fifteen days, the first ten days would be regarded as menstruation and the other five days as chronic discharge (istihada). The purity in these five days would be Hûkmi.

Sometimes a woman does not bleed but yet Sharî’ah regards it as menstruation. This is called Hûkmi impurity. For example a woman bleeds for a day and the bleeding stops for five days and then she again bleeds for a day. All these seven days would be regarded as one menstrual flow. The impurity in the five days would be Hûkmi and the impurity on the first and seventh day Haqîqi.

Now, keeping the above six points in mind, the following laws should be studied.

ISSUE 1
If a young girl experiences bleeding for the first time, then it should be observed whether it continues for three days and three nights (seventy-two hours). {According to Imâm Shafi’î R.A. for twenty-four hours.} If it does, then it is menstruation.

ISSUE 2
If bleeding continues for more than three days and three nights and stops at any time within ten days and ten nights, then all of it would be menstruation, similarly all of it would be menstruation if bleeding continued for full ten days (two hundred and forty hours). {Fifteen days and fifteen nights according to Imâm Shafi’î R.A.}

ISSUE 3
If bleeding continued for full ten days and ten nights {Fifteen days and fifteen nights according to Imâm Shafi’î R.A.} then the ten days and ten nights will be menstruation and the bleeding beyond it is chronic discharge (istihada).

Since any bleeding beyond ten full days is chronic discharge (istihada). She should take a bath after ten days and start her prayer.

But if a woman is a mo’tâda [one who has a normal set menstruation period] and bleeding continues beyond her habit, then it should be seen, if it stops within ten days, all of it is menstruation and if it continues after ten days, then only the days of her habit would be regarded as menstruation and the days after that is chronic discharge (istihada).

Therefore, she should perform make-up prayer for the days beyond her habit. If she has a habit of seven days and she bled for twelve days then only seven days would be menstruation and the rest chronic discharge (istihada). But if she bled for nine or ten days only then all of it is menstruation.

ISSUE 4
If a mubtadeah keeps bleeding continuously for a few months, then in every month ten days from the day when bleeding started, these are of menstruation and the remaining nineteen to twenty days are of chronic discharge (istihada) e.g. if bleeding started on the fifth of a particular month, the days between the fifth and the fifteenth of every month are of menstruation and from the fifteenth to the fifth of the next month are days of chronic discharge (istihada). Note: only Islamic (lunar calendar) must be used regarding Islamic matters.

ISSUE 5
If a woman notices blood for three full days and three nights or more, or any number of days up to ten days and ten nights and then remains clean for full fifteen days or more, and again sees blood for three or more days then both bleedings are called menstruation and the days in between are regarded as a period of purity.

ISSUE 6
If a woman notices blood for three days and three nights or more and then remains clean for fifteen days or more and again sees blood for less than three days then the first bleeding was menstruation while the second bleeding is chronic discharge (istihada) because the bleeding was for less than three days although the period of purity was for fifteen lays.

ISSUE 7
If a woman notices blood for less than three days and three nights and after full fifteen days or more sees blood again for less than three days then both bleedings are called chronic discharge (istihada) and she will be regarded as clean for all these days.

As soon as the bleeding stops within three days, she should make ritual ablution (wudu) and start her prayer during the last stages (end part) of mustahab [preferable] time (i.e. just before disliked (makruh) time). She must also offer make-up prayer for those days which she has missed while she was bleeding.

Source: Duroos fil hidayaah min jamia tahfeezul quran UK.

This page has the following sub pages.

• Womens Fiqh – Hanafi – 3
• Womens Fiqh – Hanafi – 4
• Womens Fiqh – Hanafi – 5
• Womens Fiqh – Hanafi – 6

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