Women Islamic laws

As mentioned in part one, it is possible for a preg­nant woman to have menstruation.

Salman al-Farsi asked Imam 'Ali (peace be upon him) about the sustenance of a child in its mother's womb. The Imam said, "Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, preserves the (blood of) menstruation for him and makes it into his sustenance in his mother's womb." Sulayman bin Khdlid asked Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq that, "Does a pregnant woman have her monthly period sometimes?" The Imam said, "Yes; and that is because the food of a child in the womb of its mother is the blood. Sometimes the blood is in abundance and is in excess (to his need); and when it is in excess, it is shed out; and when it is shed out (she is regarded as a ha’iz and) she is not allowed to perform salat. " 15

In this chapter we shall discuss the nature of the blood seen during pregnancy.

If a pregnant woman sees blood and she is sure that it is the menstrual flow, then she should consider it as menstruation.

But if she does not know whether it is hayz or istihazah, then there may be three possibilites:-

(1) The discharge has the three signs of hayz and it came during or aroung the fixed number of days, then she should consider it as hayz.

(2) The discharge does not have the three signs nor did it come during or around the fixed number of days, then she should consider it as istihazah.

(3) The discharge has the three, signs but it did not come during or around the fixed number of days or vice verse, then she should act on precaution.

If a pregnant woman sees blood just a few days before the childbirth, then there are four possibilities:

(1) The bleeding continues up to the child birth and she knows that it is menstruation and it has the three signs, then it will be regarded as menstruation.

(2) The bleeding continues up to the childbirth but she does not know that it is menstruation - then if it has the three signs or it occured during the fixed time of her menses, it is hayz; otherwise it will be considered as istihazah.

(3) The bleeding stopped ten days before the childbirth - then if it has the three signs, it will be regarded as menstruation; otherwise it is istihazah.

(4) The bleeding stopped during the ten days prior to the childbirth - then if it has the three signs or it oc­cured during the fixed time, it will be regarded as menstruation; otherwise it will be considered as istihazah.

Notes:

15. al-'Amili, op. cit., vol. 2, p. 579

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