Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Salaam brother

i have questions regarding Ramadan

1. my period date falls in the last 10 days of ramadan, but i don`t want to miss those sacred and blessed days. so is it ok if i can tablet to postpone my date? plz help.

2. i pray taraweeh prayer in the mosque, so i pray witr also along with the imam. i know that if i am praying tahajjud, it is better to pray witr as the last prayer of the night. i am not sure if i`ll pray tahajjud daily, for that case is it allowed to pray witr twice once with the imam along with taraweeh prayers and one after tahajjud prayers. i want to know in this case, whether my first witr prayer (that i pray with the imam)can be taken as nafl prayers.
plz brother answer these questions as soon as possible, since Ramadan have already started.

thanking you with respect and prayers,

ur sister in islaam,

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Delay Menses and Witr Prayers

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1: my period date falls in the last 10 days of ramadan, but i don`t want to miss those sacred and blessed days. so is it ok if i can tablet to postpone my date? plz help.

Beloved Sister in Islam, because such modern medical means and methods of postponing the menstruation cycle of women was not available at the time when the Quran was being revealed, the Quran and the Sunnah are silent on the issue; whereby it is neither prohibited nor encouraged.

The majority of the modern jurists and scholars in Islam are of the opinion that if a believing woman has these modern medical methods of delaying her menstruation cycle at her disposal and wishes to delay it to fulfill her worship to her Lord in Ramadan or to complete the rites of Umrah or Hajj, there is absolutely no harm and no sin if she chooses to do so.

Q-2: i pray taraweeh prayer in the mosque, so i pray witr also along with the imam. i know that if i am praying tahajjud, it is better to pray witr as the last prayer of the night. i am not sure if i`ll pray tahajjud daily, for that case is it allowed to pray witr twice once with the imam along with taraweeh prayers and one after tahajjud prayers. i want to know in this case, whether my first witr prayer (that i pray with the imam)can be taken as nafl prayers.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 2.112 Narrated by Abdullah bin Umar

The Prophet (saws) said, "Make Witr as your last prayer at night."

It is reported that Hadrat Ali (r.a.) said: "The witr prayer is not required like your obligatory prayers, but the Prophet (saws) would perform the witr prayer and say: 'O you people [followers] of the Qur'an, perform the witr prayer, for Allah is one and He loves the witr.'"

If one has already prayed the ‘witr’ prayers with the Imam in congregation, and then after that makes intention to pray additional ‘nafl’ or the ‘tahajjud’ night prayers, there is no harm in praying the optional ‘nafl’ and ‘tahajjud’ prayers after ‘witr’ has already been prayed. This ruling is applicable only in exceptional cases where the intention to pray additional prayers is made after one has already prayed one’s witr; but one should not make it a regular habit to pray the optional night prayers after witr. In such cases, where one intends to offer optional ‘nafl’ or ‘tahajjud’ prayers after the witr has already been prayed, one should not pray the ‘witr’ prayer again.

If one desires to pray the ‘witr’ prayers in congregation with the Imam, and also has intention to pray additional ‘nafl’ prayers after the congregation is over or later at night, the better way or practice would be to add one more rakah to the ‘witr’ prayed in congregation after the Imam makes the ‘tasleem’; and then pray the one rakah ‘witr’ prayer after one has completed one’s additional ‘nafl’ prayers; thus making the ‘witr’ the last prayers of the night.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan