Jurisprudence and Juristic Principles

Al-Azdiyyah, viz. Mussah, reported: I performed Hajj and came to Umm Salamah and said (to her): "O mother of the believers, Samurah ibn Jundub commands women to complete the prayers abandoned during menstrual period." She said: "They should not do so. The Prophet's wives would refrain (from prayer) for forty days during postpartum bleeding, and the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) would not command them to complete the prayers abandoned during that period."

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: We set out with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) with the sole intention of performing Hajj. When we reached Sarif, I got my menses. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came to me while I was weeping. He said: "Why are you weeping?" I said: "By Allah, I wish I had not come this year (for Hajj)." He said: "What is the matter with you, have you got your menses?" I replied: 'Yes.' He said: "This is something that Allah has ordained for the daughters of Adam. So, do everything the pilgrim does, but do not make Tawāf around the Ka‘bah until you are pure." ‘Ā’ishah added: When we approached Makkah, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to his Companions: "Make it ‘Umrah." So the people lifted the restrictions of Ihrām except for those who had brought a sacrificial animal. There was a sacrificial animal with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) as well as Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and the rich ones; then they raised their voices in Talbiyah as they set out. On the Day of Sacrifice, I became pure, so the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ordered me to perform Tawāf al-Ifādah, and I did. We were brought cow meat and I said: "What is this?" The people said: "The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sacrificed cows on behalf of his wives." On the night of Al-Hasbah, I said: "O Messenger of Allah, will the people return having made Hajj and ‘Umrah while I will return having made Hajj only?" So he ordered ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn Abi Bakr, and he rode me on the back of his camel. I remember - and I was just a young girl - I would doze off and the rear part of the saddlebags would hit my face; until we arrived at Tan‘īm. I raised my voice with Talbiyah intending ‘Umrah to make up for the one people had performed.

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) went out to the praying area on the day of Ad'ha or the day of Fitr. He passed by the women and, thus, said: "O womenfolk, give charity, for indeed, I was shown that you form the majority of the dwellers of Hellfire." They said: Why is that, O Messenger of Allah? He said: "You curse frequently, and you are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone deficient in intellect and religion more able to lead and subdue the mind of a stern man than one of you." They said: O Messenger of Allah, what is the deficiency in our religion and intellect? He said: "Is not the woman's testimony equivalent to half of the man's testimony?" They said: Yes. He said: "That is the deficiency in her intellect. Is it not true that she neither prays nor fasts when menstruating?" They said: Yes. He said: "That is the deficiency in her religion."

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said concerning a man who engages in sexual intercourse with his wife during her menses: "Let him give one dinar or half a dinar in charity."

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Among the Jews, whenever a woman had her menstruation, they would neither eat with her nor associate with her in their houses. So the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) asked him (about this) and Allah, the Almighty, revealed: {And they ask you about menstruation. Say, "It is harm, so keep away from wives during menstruation} [Sūrat al-Baqarah: 222]. So the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do everything except sexual intercourse." When the Jews heard of that, they said: "This man does not want to leave anything we do without opposing us in it." Usayd ibn Hudayr and ‘Abbād ibn Bishr came and said: "O Messenger of Allah, the Jews say such-and-such, should we not have intercourse with them (our wives)?" The face of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) underwent such a change that we thought he was angry with them, so they went out. They were met by a gift of milk which was being brought to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) so he sent after them and made them drink thereof, whereby they knew that he was not angry with them.

’Umm ‘Atiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her), the one who pledged allegiance to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), reported: After becoming pure (from menstruation), we would not consider brownish and yellowish discharges to be of any significance.

‘Ā’ishah, Mother of the Believers, (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: ’Umm Habībah bint Jahsh, who was the wife of ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn ‘Awf, complained to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) about blood. He told her: "Wait for as long as your menstrual period normally stops you, and then take a ritual bath." So, she used to take a ritual bath for every prayer.

Hamnah bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: I used to experience a heavy prolonged flow of menstrual blood. So I came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) seeking a religious verdict and in order to tell him. I found him in the house of my sister, Zaynab bint Jahsh. I said: "O Messenger of Allah, I am a woman who experiences a heavy prolonged flow of menstrual blood, so what do you think about it? It has prevented me from praying and fasting." He said: "I suggest that you use cotton, for it eliminates (the traces of) blood." She replied: "It is too copious for that." He said: "Then you can use a cloth." She replied: "It is too copious for that, for my blood keeps pouring heavily." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I shall give you two commands; whichever of them you follow will be sufficient for you without the other, but you know best if you are strong enough to follow both of them." He added: "This is only a strike of the devil, so observe your menses for six or seven days, according to Allah's knowledge; then have a ritual bath. When you see that you are pure and clean, pray during twenty-three or twenty-four days and nights and fast, for that will be enough for you (for freeing your liability), and do so every month, just as women menstruate and are purified at the time of their menstruation and their purification. If you are able to delay the Zhuhr prayer and perform the ‘Asr prayer promptly, until you have a ritual bath, and then combine the two prayers and to delay the Maghrib prayer and perform the ‘Ishā' prayer, until you have a ritual bath, and then combine the two prayers, then do so: and to take a ritual bath at the Fajr prayer too, do so: and observe fast if you are able to." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Out of the two commands, the latter is more preferable to me."

Asmā' bint ‘Umays (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: I said: "O Messenger of Allah, Fātimah bint Abi Hubaysh has been having Istihādah since such-and-such and has not been praying since then." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Glory be to Allah, this comes from the devil. Let her sit in a washtub, and if she sees yellowness on top of the water, she has to take a bath once for the Zhuhr and ‘Asr prayers and another bath for the Maghrib and ‘Ishā' prayers and a third bath for the Fajr prayer, and she may perform ablution in between that (if she needs to).'"

Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We set out on a journey. One of our people was hit by a stone that injured his head. He then had a wet dream. He asked his fellow travelers: "Do you find a concession for me to perform Tayammum?" They said: "We do not find any concession for you since water is available to you." He, thus, took a bath and died (as a result). When we came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) the incident was reported to him. He said: "They killed him, may Allah kill them! Why had they not asked when they did not know? The cure for ignorance is inquiry. It would have been enough for him to perform Tayammum and to press – or bind – a cloth over his wound then wipe with wet hands over it and wash the rest of his body."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Two men set out on a journey, and prayer became due while they had no water. They performed dry ablution, using clean earth, and prayed. Later on, they found water while still within the time of the prayer. One of them repeated his prayer with ablution, and the other did not. Then, they came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him about that. He said to the one who did not repeat his prayer: "You have followed the Sunnah and your (first) prayer was enough for you." He then said to the one who performed ablution and repeated his prayer: "For you there is a double reward."

Abu Dharr Jundub ibn Junādah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: A few goats were in the possession of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) so he said: "O Abu Dharr, take them to the desert." I took them to the desert of Rabadhah, and I would sometimes be in a state of Janābah and stay for five or six days (without bathing). I came to the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon, and he said: "Abu Dharr?" I kept silent. He said: "May your mother lose you, Abu Dharr! Woe to your mother!" He then called a black maid and she brought me a big pot of water. She concealed me with a garment and I hid behind a camel and washed. It was as if I removed a mountain off myself. He then said: "Clean earth is ablution for the Muslim, even up to ten years. Then when you find water, wash your skin with it, for that is better."

‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been given what no other prophet was given." We said: "O Messenger of Allah, what is it?" He said: "I have been granted victory by means of awe (cast into the hearts of the enemies), I have been given the keys of the earth, I have been named Ahmad, the earth was made for me a means of purification, and my nation has been made the best of nations."

Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: ''We have been preferred over others with three (privileges): Our rows are like the rows of the angels, the whole earth is for us a place to pray and its dust is for us a means to purify ourselves with if we do not find water.'' And he mentioned a third privilege.

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: I used to take a bath with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) from Janābah using a single water container in which we dipped our hands alternately." According to another narration: "and they (our hands) would meet."

Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: I said: "O Messenger of Allah, I am a woman who braids her hair. Should I undo it when I wash from Janābah – in another narration: and after menstruation?" He said: "No, it is sufficient for you to pour three handfuls of water on your head then pour water all over yourself, and you will be purified."

Maymūnah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: I poured water for the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to take a ritual bath. So he poured water with his right hand on his left hand and washed them. Then he washed his private parts then rubbed his hand on the ground and cleaned it with dust then washed it. Then he rinsed his mouth and nose. Then he washed his face and poured water over his head. He then moved aside and washed his feet. A towel was brought for him, but he did not dry himself with it.

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: “When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) took a ritual bath to remove Janābah, he would start by washing his hands. Then he would pour water with his right hand over his left hand to wash his private parts. Then he would make ablution like that he would make for his prayer. Then he would take water with his fingers and run them through his hair. When making sure that his hair was thoroughly wet, he would pour three handfuls of water over his head. Then he would pour water over the rest of his body. Then he would wash his feet.

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If any of you has sexual intercourse with his wife and then wished to have intercourse again, then let him perform ablution between the two times." The narration of Al-Hākim added: "as that will provide him with more energy for the second time."

Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever performs ablution on Friday, that is good, and whoever takes a bath has done what is better."