Is Praying in Menses Allowed? praying, reading Quran? Please tell me in details what things in allowed in the state of menses?
A Brief Description of the Question:
Is Praying in Menses Allowed? praying, reading Quran? Please tell me in details what things in allowed in the state of menses?
The Answer:
Women are prohibited from performing certain acts while they are in this condition, such as follows:
• She cannot pray (salat) after she begins to bleed and does not have to make up any missed prayers.
• She cannot observe any obligatory (Ramadan) or supererogatory fasts. She must make up the obligatory fasting days after regaining her ritual cleanliness. If bleeding begins during a supererogatory fasting day upon which she had intended to fast, she must make it up.
• She can do all pilgrimage rites except circumambulating the Ka‘ba (tawaf).
• She should avoid mosques or places of worship, and cannot touch the Qur’an, whether the original or in translation. She cannot recite it from memory, but can read the verses of prayer and supplication with the intention of praying. (She cannot perform salat but can supplicate and recite the prayers mentioned in the Qur’an with the intention of saying prayers or making supplications.)
• A man cannot have sexual intercourse with his wife while she has post-childbirth bleeding, for she is not allowed to make herself available to him. However, he can kiss, hug, or touch her anywhere besides the pubic region. It is better and highly advisable to avoid the area between the navel and the knees.
When a menstruating woman stops bleeding, she must perform a complete ghusl (major ablution). After this, she must resume praying and fasting, can enter the mosque, make tawaf, recite the Qur’an, and engage in allowable sexual intercourse. She must make up the fasting days that she missed during Ramadan, but not the prayers. The same rules apply to women in post-childbirth bleeding.
I – Judgments regarding menstruation and puerperium:
There are 8 judgments regarding menstruation and puerperium:
1 – A woman in the state of menstruation and puerperium are not responsible for performing prayers. It is forbidden for women to perform prayers when they are in the state of menstruation and puerperium. They do not have to perform those prayers when they are clean. Allah removed such a responsibility due to His grace and generosity.
The same thing is valid for the state of puerperium. It is obvious that it will be difficult for a woman who abandoned prayers for 20, 30 or even 40 days to perform those prayers later.
Islam, which is a religion sent as mercy to the realms, does not hold women responsible for the prayers that they do not perform during the state of menstruation and puerperium.
* It is haram for women who are in the state of menstruation and puerperium to perform prayers but it is permissible for them to glorify Allah, to mention His names and attributes and to pray to Him. A woman who is in the state of menstruation and puerperium is encouraged make wudu when it is time for prayer and to sit facing the qiblah for a period of time as long as a prayer takes and glorify Allah, say salawat and prayers if it possible and if she has enough time. Thus, she will not forget her Lord and will not miss the pleasure of worshipping; she will also show how enthusiastic she is about worshipping Allah if she could.
2 – It is forbidden for women who are in the state of menstruation and puerperium to perform fasting just like prayers. However, unlike prayers, they have to perform fasting after they are cleaned because fasting is not performed during the whole year unlike prayers but only one month; therefore, a few days of fasting will not be very difficult for women to perform after they are cleaned. Thus, women are not asked to perform the prayers that they miss during the state of menstruation and puerperium but they are asked to perform fasting that they miss.
Hazrat Aisha states the following regarding the issue:
“When we were in the state of menstruation and puerperium, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ordered us to perform fasting that we missed later. He did not order us to perform the prayers that we missed.”
3 – It is haram for a woman who is in the state of menstruation and puerperium to read the Quran. The Messenger of Allah said, “A woman who is in the state of menstruation and puerperium cannot read the Quran.” It is permissible for women who are in the state of menstruation and puerperium to read various prayers like the qunut prayer glorify Allah and say salawat for the Prophet. Women who are in the state of menstruation and puerperium cannot read the Quran but they can listen to it.
4 – It is haram for women who are in the state of menstruation and puerperium to touch the Quran. Let alone the whole Quran, it is even haram to touch one verse or one word of a verse.
A woman who teaches the Quran must leave it to somebody else to teach the Quran if she starts to menstruate; if there is nobody else to do it, it becomes permissible for her to go on teaching the Quran according to Hanafi scholars Karhi and Tahawi. Imam Karhi says it is permissible for a woman teacher to continue teaching the Quran in the form of separate words when she is in menstruation and Tahawi says in the form of half verses.
Based on some narrations reported from the scholars of the Companions and those who followed them, Maliki scholars state that a woman can read the Quran when she is in menstruation but that she cannot read the Quran when the bleeding of menstruation ends unless she makes ghusl. Ibn Hazm does not regard it necessary. Malikis and some Islamic scholars including Ibn Hazm found it necessary to make a positive discrimination in favor of women in menstruation because the state of menstruation is involuntary whereas the state of janabah is voluntary; especially Malikis acted upon the need of permission for teaching and learning the Quran for women.
5 – It is haram for women in the state of menstruation and puerperium (or janabah) to enter mosques unless it is obligatory. If it is necessary, they can enter mosques.
6 – It is also haram for a woman who is in the state of menstruation and puerperium and for a woman or man who is junub to circumambulate the Kaaba, the qiblah of believers. According to Hanafis, circumambulation in the state of menstruation is valid but it is necessary to slaughter an animal as punishment.
7 – It is haram for a woman who is in the state of menstruation and puerperium to have a sexual intercourse with her husband. Such an intercourse is regarded as one of the major sins.
The following is stated in the Quran:
“They ask thee concerning women's courses. Say: They are a hurt and a pollution; so keep away from women in their courses, and do not approach them until they are clean.” (al-Baqara, 222).
The following hadith reported by Hazrat Anas explains the meaning of the order ‘do not approach them’:
“Jews did not eat or drink together with women when they were in menstruation. Our Prophet said,
“– Do whatever you do with them except sexual intercourse...”
It is not religiously and medically permissible to have sexual intercourse with a woman who is in the state of menstruation and puerperium. The woman is regarded as ill in those states. She needs elaborate care and cleaning then. She should avoid being tired and she should rest as much as possible. Besides, the strong smell a menstruating woman emits can cause her husband to feel disgusted. Therefore, the sexual intercourse during this period can cause the husband to feel disgusted against her and can also some gynecological diseases.
It is haram for a man to approach his wife when she is in menstruation; it is also haram for a woman to give consent to it.
If a husband and wife have a sexual intercourse, both of them have to repent. In addition, it is necessary for them to give one or half a dinar of gold or the equivalent to the poor. [One dinar is a gold coin equal to one mithqal (4 gr.)>.
It is not necessary to sleep in a separate bed away from the woman. Such an attitude exists in the belief of Jews. Jews did not sleep in the same bed as menstruating women and they did not even eat together with them. They even used different towels. Islam abolished this unjust custom, which disdained women; Islam does not even regard it makruh to sleep in the same bed as a menstruating woman, to eat the food that she has cooked and to use the same towel.
Hazrat Aisha stated the following: “When I was in menstruation, the Prophet put his blessed head on my lap and recited the Quran.”
Another narration is as follows: “When I was in menstruation, I combed the hair of the Messenger of Allah.”
It is understood from those hadiths that women in menstruation are not najis (materially dirty). Those who are in puerperium are not najis, either. Those states are spiritual obstacles that prevent them from performing some religious duties.
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