Fasting and Haidh

by : Batul S. Arastu

If haidh or nifas of a woman stopped and due to various reasons she did not take her Ritual Bath (Ghusl) and the time for morning Adhaan passed, in this case there are two possibilities depending upon whether it was done forgetfully or it was done deliberately.

If forgetfully:

If she genuinely forgot to perform ghusl, then her fast is okay, as long as she performs ghusl whenever she remembers. Suppose she remembers 2 days later, it is still okay as long as she performs a ghusl soon after remembering. The fasts that she has done are all valid.

After Adhaan one realizes that her haidh stopped before Adhaan. In this case her fast is valid, as long as she performs ghusl soon after remembering.

Haidh of this woman stopped just before Adhaan so she did not have time to do ghusl or tayammum. In this case her fast is still valid, as long as she takes a ghusl soon.

If deliberately:

If a woman deliberately does not perform ghusl (before the morning adhaan) then her fast of Ramadhan or Qadha Fasts of Ramadhan is void. One may ask, how can someone deliberately not perform ghusl?

There are people who procrastinate things. Sometimes because of laziness one may deliberately put off performing ghusl.

If a woman deliberately does not perform ghusl before the morning Adhaan, for fasts like: Fast of oath, some other obligatory fasts or recommended fasts, it is okay, as long as she peforms the ghusl soon.

Two very important points to remember regarding haidh and fasting:

A woman in haidh cannot fast in Ramadhan, but she must make up for the fasts she missed due to haidh. She should make up the fasts missed due to haidh with an intention of ‘Qadha’.

If a woman sees blood of haidh, even a few seconds before Adhaan of Maghrib, her fast is void and is not counted, and she must make Qadha for it.

Adopted from the book : "Women's Issues Made Simple" by : "Batul S. Arastu"