Question
Assalamu’alykum
Please can you kindly help me to understand when I should be praying and when I shouldn’t.
I kept record of all my menstuation habits, but now realise that I have calculated everything wrong. I didn’t log any istihadah, or take into account any bleeding due to istihadah. So everything I kept a record of would be invalid.
I only wrote down the last time I saw bleeding before the maximum 10 days, but I didn’t write down any bleeding that took place after these 10 days, or of any bleeding before a 15 day purity.
For purity I calculated 15 days after I stopped bleeding (i.e; I counted when I stopped bleeding before the maximum 10 days, and then counted 15 days for purity from there).
Now I realise that this was the incorrect method and I was to take into account my previous months habit if I had any invalid bleeding/purity.
As I have been keeping record of my menstuation and purity this way for a long time, I don’t know what my last proper habit of purity or menstuation was.
I have been having bleeding that extends beyond 10 days, (usually 12 days from when menstuation starts). I take a bath and start praying once I reach 10 days.
Then I have 15 -17 days when I don’t bleed. I take these as purity. When I start bleeding again, I take these days as menstruation up to day 10. And the last 2 days (days 11 & 12 I discard as istihadah).
But sometimes my cycles get even shorter. Example: I bleed for 12 days, and then only have 12-14 days (after the maximum 10 days) no bleeding before I start bleeding again. And here I get confused, as I always have 12 days of bleeding, so I can’t understand wether I should discard the first few days of bleeding as istihadah, or wether I should discard the last few days as istihadah. (As my bleeding is 12 days.)
This has been happening for over 3 years, before this I used to have 8-10 days of menstruation and proper purity. Gradually my menstruation got longer and longer and then it started going over 10 days. At the same time my purity got shorter and shorter.
As I now don’t know what my habit used to be, please advise when I am to pray and when I am to abandon salah.
And I also wanted to ask, when I sometimes get 15-17 days purity (including the 2 days I bleed over 10 days) can I count this as a minimum purity habit? As this purity is in between two invalid bleeding (12 days on each side).
Jazak Allah khair
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Inspirer of Truth
To determine the number of days you should use for your menstruation (hayd) and purity (tuhr) habits, it will be necessary for you to think back to the last time you experienced a valid blood and valid purity.
A valid blood refers to hayd, spanning between 3-10 days. A valid purity is the gap between two valid bloods, which is 15 days or more and is not mixed with any bleeding or coloured discharge.
You mentioned that it has been over three years where you have had prolonged bleeding cycles with a shorter number of purity days. You will need to try utmost in thinking back to when you last had a valid blood and purity to establish a habit. Without a habit, the rules of a muḍilla will apply which are very stringent and can be extremely difficult to manage. To avoid going down that route, I strongly urge you to think back to when the last time you had cycles without any irregular bleeding (istiḥāḍa). Even if you are not certain, an estimation with which you are fairly confident and is based on your predominant thought will suffice.
Your current purity days cannot be used as a habit, even if they span between 15-17 days as they are mixed with irregular blood. We will only be able to advise which days you should count as hayd and when you should reconvene prayer once we have determined your habit.
And Allah knows best.
Dhukr al-Muta’ahhilīn wa’l-Nisā’ wa sharḥuhu Manhal al-Wāridīn, pp.125-9 Hertford ed. (2005)
Dhukr al-Muta’ahhilīn wa’l-Nisā’ wa sharḥuhu Manhal al-Wāridīn, p.132 Hertford ed. (2005)
Dhukr al-Muta’ahhilīn wa’l-Nisā’ wa sharḥuhu Manhal al-Wāridīn, p.229 Hertford ed. (2005)
Answered by:
Bint Saeed
Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel