Q & A on menstruation and post-partum bleeding –II
09/05/2019| IslamWeb
Question: A woman had blood beginning to flow (i.e., her menses) while she was in the Mosque of the Prophet 
. She stayed in the mosque for a short while, until her husband had finished his prayer, so that she could leave with him. Did she commit a sin?
Q & A on menstruation and post-partum bleeding –I
Response: If she was not able to depart from the mosque by herself, then there is no harm in what she did. However, if she was able to leave by herself, then it was obligatory upon her to exit as quickly as possible. This is because the menstruating woman, the woman who has post-partum bleeding and a sexually defiled person are not allowed to sit in the mosques. This is based on Allah's statement which forbids certain categories of people from approaching the places of prayer, one of which is (what means): "…Nor while sexually defiled, except when travelling on a road…" [Quran 4: 43] (1)
It is also narrated from the Prophet that he said: "I do not permit the menstruating woman or the sexually defiled person to enter the mosque." [Abu Dawood]
Shaykh Ibn Baaz
Footnotes
1. Note that the verse is in reference only to those who are sexually defiled. Obviously, the differences between a menstruating woman and a sexually defiled person are very great. Hence, one cannot make an analogy between the two. Furthermore, there is also a difference of opinion concerning whether this verse implies anyone who becomes sexually defiled or only the travellers who become sexually defiled.
Question: Is it allowed for a menstruating woman to read a book of supplications on the Day of 'Arafah (i.e., the ninth of Thul-Hijjah), given the fact that the book contains Quranic verses?
Response: There is no harm in a menstruating or post-partum bleeding woman reading the books of supplications that are written for the rites of the pilgrimage. In fact, there is nothing wrong with her even reciting the Quran, according to the correct opinion, as there is no authentic, clear text prohibiting a menstruating or post-partum bleeding woman from reciting the Quran. The narration that we do have is concerned with the sexually defiled person only, which confirms that such a person should not recite the Quran while he/she is sexually defiled, and this was narrated by 'Ali 
. As for the menstruating or post-partum bleeding woman, there is the Hadeeth that was narrated by Ibn 'Umar which states: "Neither the menstruating woman nor the sexually defiled person is to recite anything from the Quran." [Abu Dawood, At-Tirmithi & Others]
However, this is weak. This is because it is from the narrations of Isma'eel Ibn 'Ayyash on the authority of people from the Hijaz (western 
on that point.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz
Question: Some women have miscarriages - sometimes the foetus comes out fully formed while at others it is only partially formed. I would like you to make clear the ruling for prayer in both of those situations.
Response: If a woman has a miscarriage and the foetus has distinctly human features, such as a head, limbs and so forth, then her bleeding is post-natal bleeding. She should, therefore, follow the rulings of one who has post-natal bleeding. She should not pray or fast and her husband cannot have sexual intercourse with her until the bleeding stops, or she completes forty days. If the bleeding stops before the fortieth day, she must make Ghusl, pray, and fast if it is Ramadan, and her husband may have sexual intercourse with her (if she is not fasting and it is not Ramadan).
There is no minimum length of time for post-natal bleeding. The bleeding could stop after ten days, more or less, and she must then make Ghusl, and all the laws of a ritually pure person will then apply to her. If she sees any blood after the fortieth day, it is considered bleeding from illness. She would then fast and pray with that bleeding and it is permissible for her husband to have sexual intercourse with her. She must make ablution for the time of every prayer, like for the Mustahadhah, (1) as the Prophet told Fatimah bint Abu Hubaysh 
: "Make ablution for (the time of) every prayer." (2)
If the blood that flows from her after the forty-day period coincides with the time of her menses, then it takes on the ruling of menses. It is forbidden for her to pray or fast until she becomes pure. It is also forbidden for her husband to have intercourse with her.
However, if the miscarried foetus does not resemble a human being, such as when it is simply a smooth lump of flesh or clot of blood, then she takes the ruling of Istihadhah and not that of post-partum bleeding. She should pray, fast during Ramadan and may have intercourse with her husband. She should make ablution for every prayer while keeping herself clean from the blood by using a panty liner or something similar, as she would for the Mustahadhah, until the bleeding stops.
She may also combine the Thuhr (noon) and 'Asr (afternoon) prayers together and the Maghrib (sunset) and 'Ishaa' (night) prayers. She may also make a Ghusl for the combined prayers and a separate Ghusl for the Fajr prayer, based on the confirmed Hadeeth of Hamnah bint Jahsh . This is because she is to be treated as a Mustahadhah, according to the people of knowledge.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz
Footnotes
1. The Mustahaadhah is the woman with Istihadhah. Istihadhah is either a prolonged flow of blood (called menorrhagia in English) or bleeding outside of the menses (called metrorrhagia in English). Many hospitals and medical clinics in the
2. This translator was not able to find this Hadeeth with this exact wording. The authentic narrations in Al-Bukhari and Muslim simply state that she is to make ablution for every prayer.