Duration of Hayz

The beginning of menstruation is determined when blood leaves the uterus and enters the vagina. It is necessary for the commencement of menstruation that the blood should be seen outside the vagina.

In another hadith, Imam as-Sadiq said, "The minimum duration of menstruation is three days, and the maximum is ten days.” 5

By "three days" we mean three days and the two nights between the first and the third day. For exam­ple, if blood starts on Monday morning and stops on Wednesday evening, then it is menstruation. And by "ten days" we mean ten days and the nine nights bet­ween the first and the tenth day.

So, if a woman sees blood for less than three days, it is not considered hayz. If the blood is seen for more than ten days, the ten days will be counted as menstrua­tion and the blood seen after that will be regarded as istihazah.

The same Imam said, "The minimum duration of purity (between two menstrual cycles) must be (at least) ten days." 6 So if a woman sees blood during the ten days after her period had ended, it will not be considered hayz.

Although it is normal to say that menstruation takes place once "a month", but it should be clarified that menstrual cycles take place every 28 days - so, in the present context "a month" means a period of 28 days, not 29, 30 or 31 days.

Notes:

5. Ibid, p. 551.

6. Ibid, p. 554.

Adopted from the book : "The Ritual Ablutions for Women (Taharatu N-Nisa')" by : "Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi"