“Haydh” is the blood which is normally discharged every month from the womb of a woman for a few days. As long as the menstrual blood is discharged, the woman is called “Haa' idh”.

Issue 297: When menstruation ends, the woman must perform Ghusl for saying prayers and doing other things which necessitate purity.

Issue 298: Menstruation does not occur before the age of nine, and if a girl discharges any blood before that, it is not accounted menstruation.

Issue 299: It is possible that a pregnant woman or a breast feeding one menstruate.

Issue 300: If a woman discharges any blood, of which she is not certain whether it is menstrual blood or the blood from her hymen, she must examine herself with a piece of cotton. That is, she must insert a piece of cotton into her vulva and wait for sometime. Then if the sides of the cotton are stained with the blood, it is from her hymen, but if the blood has soaked the cotton completely, it is accounted menstrual blood.

Issue 301: The period of menstruation is not less than three days, so, if the flow of blood stops before the third day is completed, it is not accounted menstruation.

Issue 302: The period of menstruation lasts no longer than ten days and if bleeding lasts longer than ten days, it will not be considered as menstruation after ten days.

Issue 303: Menstrual blood is usually thick, warm and dark, and it is discharged with pressure and a little irritation.

Q304: Is it allowable for women to take pills which prevent menstruation?

A: It is allowable.

Issue 305: A Haa'idh (menstruating woman) must avoid the following things:

1- Offering prayers and other acts of worship which necessitate Wudhu, Ghusl, or Tayammum, but it does not matter if she performs other acts of worship which do not require Wudhu, Ghusl, or Tayammum, such as prayers for the dead.

2- All what is forbidden for a person in the state of Janabah (see Janabah Ghusl).

3- Anal or vaginal intercourse for both men and women, even if just the head of the penis penetrates into the vagina (i.e., up to the point of circumcision), and even if semen is not discharged. As an obligatory precaution, penetration must be avoided, even if it is to an extent lesser than the point of circumcision.

Issue 306: Sexual intercourse is forbidden on the days when menstruation is not certain, but a woman must legally account them as days of her period. Thus, a woman whose period lasts longer than ten days and as it will be explained later, she must resort to the menstrual periods of her relatives as to determine the days of her period, must avoid sexual intercourse with her husband on those days.

Issue 307: If a man has sexual intercourse with his wife while menstruation, he must atone for that. The atonement for such an illegal act is to give Kaffara (alms given to the poor as atonement for a sin).

Thus, the number of the days of a woman's period must be divided by three. If a man has sexual intercourse with his wife during the first fraction, as a recommended precaution, he should give 3.457 grams of gold as Kaffara.

If he has sexual intercourse with his wife during the second and the third fractions, he should give 1.729 and 0.865 grams of gold as Kaffarah respectively. For example, when a woman's period lasts for six days, if her husband has sexual intercourse with her during the first and second days or nights, he should give 3.457 grams of gold as Kaffara. But if he does so on the third and the fourth days or nights, he should give 1.729 grams of gold as Kaffara and as for the fifth and the sixth days or nights; 0.865 grams of gold should be given as Kaffara.

Issue 308: If while having sexual intercourse, a man learns that his wife is menstruating, he must immediately stop doing that, and if he does not stop doing that, as a recommended precaution, he should give Kaffara.

Issue 309: To divorce a woman while she is menstruating is void.

Issue 310: If a woman's menstruation starts while she is offering prayers, her prayers will be void.

Issue 311: It is legally disapproved (Makruh) for a menstruating woman to read the Holy Quran, or to keep it with herself, or to touch the margins and spaces between the lines of the Holy Quran with any part of her body. It is also legally disapproved for her to dye her hair with henna and the like while menstruating.

Q312: What must a woman do if her menstruation starts when she is in a mosque?

A: It is obligatory for her to get out of the mosque.

Q313: Is it permissible for a woman to have sexual intercourse with her husband after her menstruation finishes but before performing the obligatory Ghusl for menstruation?

A: It is not forbidden; however, as a recommended precaution, she should first perform the obligatory Ghusl for menstruation, and then have sexual intercourse with her husband.

Q314: Must a girl perform any Ghusl for the one or two-day bleeding after being penetrated by her husband for the first time?

A: No, this bleeding does not entail a Ghusl, and after performing Janabah Ghusl (for the intercourse), she must purify herself for offering prayers.

Q315: When a woman ignorantly or intentionally hides her being menstruating from her husband, but after the sexual intercourse her husband becomes certain that the woman has been menstruating, does this entail giving Kaffara? If so, is it the man, the wife, or both of them who must take charge of the Kaffara?

A: Since the man has not known about her being menstruating, he does not need to give Kaffara, and as for the wife, because she has known her being menstruating but still hidden it from her husband, she has committed a sin, but she does not need to give Kaffara either.

Q316: What must a person do if they have not known any thing about the issue of Haydh Ghusl and its being obligatory and thus have offered their prayers and fasts without any Ghusls for a while?

A: As long as they have performed Janabah Ghusl, it has been sufficient and their prayers and fasts have been valid and correct, because Janabah Ghusl is an inclusive one which, when performed, would suffice for all other purposes as well (even if the Ghusls for other purposes have not been performed because of ignorance, forgetting, or disregarding). Thus, since one has performed Janabah Ghusl, their prayers have been valid as long as they have not been in a state of impurity (Hadath) again, and since they entered a state of impurity such as Haydh again for which they have not performed a Ghusl, their prayers must be offered as Quadha prayers, because this is one of the cases which necessitates Quadha prayers, i.e., redoing the prayers.

Issue 317: Offering prayers and fasting is forbidden during menstruation, and the prayers do not need to be done as Quadha, but the fasts must be kept as compensation.

Issue 318: There is no difference between Hydh Ghusl and Janabah Ghusl but in the intention.

Q319: Is it permissible for a menstruating woman to go to the Holy shrines of the immaculate Imams on pilgrimage?

A: The obligatory precaution is to avoid that.

Q320: Is it illegal for a menstruating woman to read the Holy Quran?

A: Reading the Holy Quran is legally disapproved but permissible for a menstruating woman as well as the one in the state of Janabah, but reading even a single verse of the chapters (Surahs) which entail obligatory prostrations, is forbidden.

Issue 321: The sufficiency of a Ghusl for prayers, and the fact that Wudhu is not necessary for offering prayers after a Ghusl, is a general rule and includes all obligatory and recommended Ghusls and it does not exclusively appertain to Janabah Ghusl.