HAIDH AND ISTIHAADA

Menstruation and Bleeding  Out of the Normal Period

Blood which flows out from women  is called haidh (menstruation or monthly periods).

Age

1.  A woman does not get haid before the age of nine and after the age of fifty five. Therefore, if blood flows from a girl who is under nine years, it will not be haid but istihaada. If blood flows after the age of fifty five, it will only be regarded as haid if it is extremely red or black. If it is yellow, green or brown, it is not haid but istihaada. However, if yellow, green or brown blood used to flow from this woman before she turned fifty five, then after the age of fifty five, these colours will also be regarded as haid. But if it happens contrary to her habit, it will not be haid but istihaada.
2.  A girl sees blood for the first time. If she bleeds for ten days or less, it will all be haid. If she bleeds for more than ten days, the ten days will be haid and whatever extra days she bleeds will be regarded as istihaada.
3. A girl sees blood for the first time and she continues bleeding for several months. From the day that she started to bleed till ten days and ten nights will be regarded as haid. Thereafter, the next twenty days will be istihaada. In this way, she will continue regarding ten days as haid and twenty days as istihaada.

Colour

1. Whatever colour flows in the period of haid, such as red, yellow, green, brown, will all be regarded as haid until the pad is completely white in colour. When it is white and remains as it was when it was placed, the woman will be cleansed from her haid.

Duration

1. The minimum period of haid is three days and three nights and the maximum period is ten days and ten nights. Blood which flows for less than three days and three nights is not haid but is referred to as istihaada (flowing of blood out of the normal period). This happens on account of some sickness. If blood flows for more than ten days and ten nights, then all those days beyond ten days will be regarded as istihaada.
2. If blood flows for three days and not three nights, it will not be haid but istihaada. For example, if blood started to flow on Friday morning and stopped flowing on Sunday after sunset, then this is not haid but istihaada. If it flows slightly less than three days and three nights, it will not be haid. For example, if blood started to flow at sunrise on Friday morning and stopped flowing slightly before sunrise on Monday morning, then it is not haid but istihaada.

Irregular patterns

1.  A woman used to bleed for three or four days every month. Thereafter, in a particular month she bled for more than her normal period but not more than ten days. All the days that she bled will be haid. But if she bled for more than ten days, then all the days which are more than her normal period will be regarded as istihaada. For example, a woman always had a habit of bleeding for three days. However, in a particular month she bled for nine days or ten days and ten nights. All these days will be regarded as haid. But if she bled for even a moment more than ten days and ten nights, then her first three days are haid and the balance of the days will be regarded as istihaada. It will be wajib for her to make qada of her salaat for the balance of these days.
2.  A certain woman has no fixed period. At times she bleeds for four days, at times for seven days and at times for ten days. All this will be regarded as haid. If at a certain time she bleeds for more than ten days and ten nights, check the number of days she bled for the previous month. That same number will be regarded as haid (for this month) and the balance will be istihaada.
3.  A certain woman always bled for four days. Then one month she bled for five days. The following month she bled for fifteen days. Out of these fifteen days, five days will be haid and the balance ten days will be istihaada.( In this case, she must wait for ten days for the blood to stop. Since the blood did not stop after ten days, she must make qada for five days salaat, and after the ten days she must bath and read her salaat) Her first normal habit will not be considered and it will be regarded that her first habit has changed and that now her habit is five days.
4. A certain woman bled for more than ten days and she completely forgot her previous habit – that is, for how many days she bled the previous month. Her problem is a very intricate one and is extremely difficult to explain. In addition to this, such a problem is very rare. We are therefore not going to explain the ruling in regard to her problem. When the need arises, she should consult a learned aalim and abstain from asking anyone who is not sure of himself.

Period of Purity

1.  The minimum period of purity between two haid periods is fifteen days. There is no maximum period. If, for some reason, she stops bleeding, then no matter how many months blood does not flow, she will remain pure.
2.  If a woman bleeds for three days and three nights and thereafter remains pure for fifteen days and again bleeds for three days and three nights, then the former and latter three days and three nights will be the periods of haid and the fifteen days will be the days of purity.
3.  If she bleeds for one or two days and then remained pure for fifteen days, and thereafter bled for one or two days again, then the fifteen days will be the period of purity and the former and latter one or two days will not be haid but istihaada.
4.  If she bled for one or several days and then remained pure for less than fifteen days, then these will not be considered. Instead, the first day till the last day will be regarded as if she bled continuously. Whatever her normal period of bleeding may have been will be regarded as haid and all the balance of the days will be regarded as istihaada.

An example of this is as follows: a woman had the habit of bleeding on the first, second and third day of every month. In a certain month it happened that she bled on the first day and thereafter remained pure for fourteen days.Thereafter she bled for another day.

It will be regarded as if she bled continuously for sixteen days. Out of these sixteen days, the first three days will be of haid and the thirteen days will be regarded as istihaada.( But establishing this fact that so many days were of haid and so many of istihaada was not possible before the sixteenth day. So in this case, when she sees the blood for the first time, she must stop reading her salaat because it is obvious that this blood is the blood of haid. However, after it stopped after one day, there is the possibility that it was either the blood of istihaada or the blood of haid. So based on the rules, she should therefore make qada of her salaat for one day. Then after she bled for fourteen days, she realized that that first day was in fact the blood of haid. Therefore, the salaat that she performed until now went to waste out of which three days are excused and she must make qada of the days after the three days. Thereafter it has to be checked as to whether she had a bath after those three days or not. If she had a bath and performed her salaat, then all her salaat of the thirteen days will be valid. If she did not have a bath, she will have to make qada of the thirteen days. And now when she sees the blood, she must not abandon her salaat. Instead, she must have a bath and perform her salaat if she had not had a bath previously. She will now be regarded as a mustahaada (one who is in a state of istihaada). If she had a habit of bleeding on the fourth, fifth and sixth of every month, then these dates will be the days of haid and the first three days and the last ten days will be of istihaada. If she had no habit and this was the first time that she bled, then the first ten days will be of haid and the last six days of istihaada.

Pregnancy

1.  Whatever blood that flows while a woman is pregnant is not the blood of haid but of istihaada – irrespective of how many days she bleeds.
2.  Whatever blood that comes out prior to the delivery of the child is also the blood of istihaada. In fact, as long as more than half the child does not come out, until then whatever blood that flows will be that of istihaada.