Definition of Nifas
DEFINITION OF NIFAS
Nifas literally means "childbed, childbirth, parturition." In the Islamic legal terminology, it means "the blood which is discharged from a woman's womb during or after the childbirth." The blood discharged during the travail is not regarded as nifas.
In the present context the word nifas is usually translated as "post-natal bleeding." The woman who has nifas is known as nafsa'.
The blood which is discharged from a woman's womb after a miscarriage is also nifas.
There is no minimum duration for nifas. Even if only a drop of blood is discharged during or after childbirth, it will be regarded as nifas.
As far as the period of occurance is concerned, any blood which is discharged within ten days of childbirth is nifas. So if a woman who saw no blood during or after the childbirth sees blood nine days later, that blood will still be regarded as nifas.
The maximum duration of nifas is ten days from the time of completion of childbirth or from the commencement of the bleeding. So if a woman sees blood at childbirth and it continues for ten days, all those days will be nifas. On the other hand, if a woman sees blood on the seventh day after the childbirth and it continues for ten days, then up to the end of the tenth day from the childbirth she will consider herself in nifas; and for the remaining period (i.e., up to 17th day from the childbirth) she will act on precaution - avoiding all things forbidden to a nafsa', and doing all that is required of a mustahadah.
When it is said "from the time of childbirth", it means after the "complete" delivery of the child.
There is no minimum duration between two nifas. For example, a woman who gave birth to twins who were born at five days interval, sees blood for 5 days after the first child and then it stops, and again she sees blood after the second child's birth - then the two bleedings will be counted as two separate nifas.
Adopted from the book : "The Ritual Ablutions for Women (Taharatu N-Nisa')" by : "Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi"