Seeds Of Realisation

Part 4

Menstruation and the Qur’ân

ISSUE 1
It is not permissible to read the Qur’ân during menstruation. According to some Ulema [learned scholars] a woman is allowed to read less than an âyah [verse] in parts, in separate breaths but not the full verse at one time.

ISSUE 2
If a woman is teaching others while in a state of menstruation, she is allowed only to spell the words but she should take care not to recite the verse at one time. She should read the verse in separate breaths and in parts.

ISSUE 3

It is permissible for a woman during menstruation to read

‘Bismillahir-rahmanir-rahim’ and ‘Alhamdulillahi-rabbil-âlamîn’ while eating or drinking because here the object is not to recite the Our’ân but the object is to obtain blessings and express shukr [thanks].

ISSUE 4
She is not allowed to touch any object on which a verse of the Qur’ân is written. She is however, allowed to touch those books in which the verses of the Qur’ân are less than the actual subject matter in the book, but she is not allowed to touch the actual verse of the Qur’ân.

ISSUE 5
She is not allowed to touch any utensil, plate or piece of paper on which only a verse of the Qur’ân is written. She is however allowed touching these utensils etc. with some other separate piece of cloth.

ISSUE 6
She is allowed to hold the Qur’ân with a cover which can be separated from and is not sewn to the Qur’ân. Similarly, she is allowed to touch the Qur’ân with any other piece of cloth which is separate and which she is not wearing. She is not allowed to touch the Qur’ân with a cover which is sewn and attached to it or with any clothes which she is wearing, like a scarf or a sleeve or a dress etc.

ISSUE 7
The laws concerning touching the Qur’ân without ritual ablution (wudu) [ablution] are the same as above except that one can read the Qur’ân by heart without ritual ablution (wudu) provided one does not touch it. Whereas, it is not permissible to do so when one is menstruating or in a state of a state of major ritual impurity (janaba).

ISSUE 8
It is permissible for a woman to read a portion of any verse provided it is less than half the verse and not equivalent to any small verse of the Qur’ân.

Menstruation and Zikr (Remembrance Of Allah)

ISSUE 1
It is permissible to make zikr of Allâh Subhanahu wa Ta’âla and send blessings to Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam (Durûd Sharief) and make istighfâr [repentance].

She should be constant in her usual zikr.

She should not recite the Qur’ân at all but she may recite du’âs [supplications] for different occasions.

She may also recite the relevant verses of du’â which are quoted from the Qur’ân when making du’â e.g. “Rabbana âtinâ fid-dûnya hasanataw wa-fil âkhirate hasanataw wa-qina a zabannâr”

ISSUE 2
She may touch the paper on which these du’âs are written but not the actual words. She is also allowed to read, teach or touch all other religious books but it is not desirable to touch these books unnecessarily. She must not touch the actual verses of the Qur’ân which appear in these books.

It should be remembered that in this state of impurity (menstruation) she should try and remain clean and occupy herself in zikr, du’âs, salawât (Durûd Sharief), istighfâr, etc. In this way she will be saved, insha-Allâh, from Shaytân who is very active during this period.

ISSUE 3
It is permissible for a menstruating woman to read Surah Fatiha with the intention of du’â, not as it being a portion of the Qur’ân.

 

 

 

 

Menstruation and the Masjjd

ISSUE 1
It is not permissible to enter a mosque during menstruation. She must leave the masjid as soon as bleeding starts.

ISSUE 2
During menstruation, she is allowed to either give something into or take something from a masjid by means of stretching her hand from outside the masjid. {According to the Shafi’î Mazhab women are allowed to walk through a masjid or its courtyard, provided that there is no fear of contamination, but to remain therein or to sit down is prohibited.}

ISSUE 3
During menstruation she must not, under any circumstances, enter Masjid-e-Nabawi (Prophet’s Masjid In Madina) even for the purpose of conveying blessings on Muhammad (saw). She may, however, offer blessings from that portion towards Bâb-e-Jibra’il which has been made for Janaza Prayer [funeral prayer] as it is separate from the masjid. She is allowed to read durûd and salâm during menstruation. (Janâzah Namâz is now performed in the masjid. The section mentioned above is on the left side, just before entering the masjid from the Bâb-e-Jibra’il).

ISSUE 4
These laws regarding the masjid are not applicable to the prayer room set aside in a house, for prayer, etc.

ISSUE 5
If she is helpless and out of absolute necessity, e.g. Allâh forbid, if thieves break into her house or if there is fire or flood and there is no other place of refuge or shelter besides the masjid, then she is allowed to stay in the masjid in a state of menstruation after performing tayammum [To obtain cleanliness by dust].

Menstruation and the Husband

ISSUE 1
During menstruation it is permissible for a woman to live, sit, eat, drink, etc with her husband.

ISSUE 2
It is harâm (forbidden) to have sexual intercourse during menstruation.

She is, however, allowed to sleep with, fondle, love, caress the husband but she must keep her body covered from her navel to her knee provided there is no possibility of sexual intercourse which is harâm [forbidden] during menstruation and is considered a major sin. If, Allâh forbid, sexual intercourse takes place during menstruation, then it is necessary to make repentance and it is better that sadaqa [charity] be given.

ISSUE 3
If the days of menstruation are according to her habit and the husband wishes to have sexual intercourse and the wife says that her menstruation has started, then it is necessary for her husband to believe her even if the wife is not religiously inclined.

ISSUE 4
If menstruation stops after ten days are complete, then it is permissible to have sexual intercourse before she has taken her bath, though it is better after the bath. If bleeding stops before ten days, then sexual intercourse is not allowed before she has taken a bath. If, however, one fardh prayer time has passed, i.e. one fardh prayer has now become make-up on her after the bleeding has stopped and up till then she has not taken her bath, then too, it is permissible to have sexual intercourse with her. {Shafi’îs should not have sexual intercourse in such cases without a bath.}

ISSUE 5
If bleeding stops before her normal habit, eg. she has a seven-day bleeding habit and this time bleeding stops after five days, she should have a bath just a little while before the time of that particular prayer ends and she should start offering her prayer. It is, however, disliked (makruh)-e-tahrimi [highly abominable or close to being harâm] for the husband to have sexual intercourse before the end of her normal habit, i.e. seven full days in this case. Similarly, if these are the days of her menstruation according to her usual habit, but bleeding only continued for one or two days and stopped, then too, the husband should not have sexual intercourse with her because there is a possibility that she may start bleeding again. However, she should make ritual ablution (wudu) and start performing her prayer.

Menstruation and Miscarriage

If no part of the foetus has yet been formed but only thick blood or flesh-like substance is discharged as a result of miscarriage or an abortion performed only due to a condition allowed in Sharî’ah, then this is not regarded as the birth of a child and whatever bleeding results from this is not regarded as post-natal bleeding (nifàs) [bleeding after childbirth].

 

If a woman remained clean for fifteen days or more before this miscarriage or abortion and if this bleeding continued for three days or more, then it should be regarded as menstruation and all laws concerning menstruation will apply to her. If this bleeding stops within three days and does not appear again, then it, should be regarded as chronic discharge (istihada).

{This is considered to be menstruation in any case according to Shafi’îs.}

 

But if any part has formed, it should be treated like Nifaas (Post natal bleeding), We inshaAllah discuss this in detail later.

Bath after Menstruation

While bathing after menstruation, it is important that the body, the head and especially the area where the bleeding takes place are washed thoroughly by rubbing with a piece of cloth, skin or cotton wool so much so that no trace of dry blood is left. When one Ansari (madinan) woman asked Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam about this bath, she was advised to take particular care, as mentioned above, and in one tradition the ladies have been asked to apply some perfume (non-alcoholic) around the area where bleeding takes place so that there will not be the slightest odour of blood.

It is, therefore, advisable to apply some perfume if time and opportunity permit.

 

In this bath, not a single part of the body must be left dry, otherwise the bath will not be proper.

If the hair is tied or plaited, then it is not necessary to undo it. It is quite sufficient if the roots of the hair are made wet and washed, but it is better if the hair is undone and washed thoroughly.

 

It is even better that after the roots of the hair have been washed the plaited or tied hair should be washed and rinsed and it is quite in order if it is not made completely wet.

 

The method of bathing is that the hands be washed first and then all impurities that are on the body be removed.

Then make ritual ablution (wudu) according to the Sunnah way and wash the whole body.

 

The fardg (obligatory acts) of bath are:-

 

1.To gargle the mouth up to the throat. If one fasts, one should ensure that no water goes into the stomach otherwise the saum [fast] will break.

2. To wash the fleshy part inside the nose;

3. To wash the whole body (male or female) making sure that not a single hair is left dry, taking special care that the private parts are thoroughly wet, especially when one stands and, takes a bath.

Some Ulema (scholars) have mentioned that many people are unaware of this fact. A woman should take particular care so as to ensure that water reaches into the foreskin of the vagina. If water does not penetrate there, then her ghusl will not be valid.

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