Question
Asalaamu Alaykum,
Around Nov or December is when I first started to pray and learn about salah. I learnt briefly how to pray and perform ghusl wudu etc but didn’t have much knowledge as i was eager to just immediately start, which i now see is wrong. I made my first ghusl around that time, and had zero knowledge on the requirements for Ghusl, therefore i made it while my menses (i think) had not fully finished due to seeing yellowish discharge. i brushed it off at that time and just redid wudu as i didn’t know, but now randomly it’s come back to my mind and im scared none of my prayers are valid since then. i’d like to add that at that time i didn’t practice Islam much at all so i genuinely had no clue. But another thing is that even without my period id sometimes have yellowish discharge so i dont even know for sure whether my menses had finished or not at the time but i go through so much waswas everyday i dont know if im overthinking it or not but please help i feel like giving up.
Answer
MashaAllah, it is commendable that you are eager to learn and implement the injunctions of Islam. Since prayer is one of the compulsory acts in Islam, it is important to understand and fulfil all requirements for it. An invalid ghusl after a period of major ritual impurity would render the prayers invalid until all the conditions of ghusl are finally met.
It is important to note that ghusl does not require an intention. Simply washing the entire body, gargling the mouth, and rinsing the nose constitutes a valid ghusl. Therefore, a daily shower can suffice for ghusl. If gargling and rinsing the nose were not done during the shower, they would have been done during wudu’, which would suffice. Thus, you may only need to repeat the prayers of a few days if these conditions were not met.
Regarding yellowish discharge, it is still considered part of one’s menses provided it falls within ten days. This is unless it is the type of discharge that occurs continuously, even outside of the menstrual cycle, in which case it would only affect one’s wudu’ and not one’s ghusl. While some women do experience a yellowish discharge on a daily basis, it is distinguishable from the yellow discharge that usually occurs at the end of one’s menstrual cycle.
«مختصر القدوري» (ص26): «باب شروط الصلاة التي تتقدمها – يجب على المصلي أن يقدم الطهارة من الأحداث والأنجاس»
«الهداية في شرح بداية المبتدي» (1/ 45): «باب شروط الصلاة التي تتقدمها “يجب على المصلي أن يقدم الطهارة من الأحداث والأنجاس على ما قدمناه” قال الله تعالى: {وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ} [المدثر:4] وقال الله تعالى: {وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ جُنُباً فَاطَّهَّرُوا} [المائدة: 6] “ويستر عورته” لقوله تعالى: {خُذُوا زِينَتَكُمْ عِنْدَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ} [لأعراف: 31] أي ما يواري عورتكم عند كل صلاة وقال عليه الصلاة والسلام “لا صلاة لحائض إلا بخمار” أي لبالغة»
«مختصر القدوري» (ص19): «والطهر إذا تخلل بين الدمين في مدة الحيض فهو كالدم الجاري»
«اللباب في الجمع بين السنة والكتاب» (1/ 100): «(بَاب النِّيَّة فِي الطهارتين الصُّغْرَى والكبرى سنة وَلَيْسَت بواجبة) – عَن أم سَلمَة رَضِي الله عَنْهَا أَنَّهَا قَالَت للنَّبِي [صلى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسلم] : ” يَا رَسُول الله إِنِّي امْرَأَة أَشد ضفر رَأْسِي أفأنقضه لغسل الْجَنَابَة؟ فَقَالَ: لَا، إِنَّمَا يَكْفِيك أَن تحثي على رَأسك ثَلَاث حثيات ثمَّ تفيضين المَاء عَلَيْك فتطهرين “. فَلَمَّا زَاد على الْجَواب علمنَا أَنه أَرَادَ تعليمها صفة الْغسْل المجزئ، فَلَو كَانَت النِّيَّة شرطا لبينها.
فَإِن قيل: لَعَلَّهَا كَانَت عَالِمَة بِهِ من قَوْله عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام: ” إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَال بِالنِّيَّاتِ وَإِنَّمَا (لامرئ) مَا نوى “.
قيل لَهُ: هَذَا الِاحْتِمَال لَا يعول عَلَيْهِ، حَتَّى نعلم أَن حَدِيث الْأَعْمَال بِالنِّيَّاتِ كَانَ مُتَقَدما على حَدِيث أم سَلمَة، وَلَا سَبِيل إِلَى هَذَا.
ثمَّ نقُول: هَذَا الِاحْتِمَال إِنَّمَا بنيته على اعتقادك أَن حَدِيث الْأَعْمَال (بِالنِّيَّاتِ) دَال على اشْتِرَاط النِّيَّة، وَلَيْسَ كَمَا تخيلته، (فَإِن) مَعْنَاهُ ” إِنَّمَا ثَوَاب الْأَعْمَال بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لامرئ ثَوَاب مَا نوى “»
Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow
Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel