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:

Q1. What does Islam say about keeping plants at home and taking good care of them?

Q2. I have plants at home, but someone recently told me that when I am having my periods I should not touch my plants (clean my plants etc.), otherwise the plants will dry out or die, I have noticed it because some of my plants died & I got very upset. Is this true, and what should I do?

(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:

Menstruating women touch plants

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 none 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: What does Islam say about keeping plants at home and taking good care of them?

The keeping of plants in one’s house for adornment is an absolutely personal preference and choice; and Islam neither encourages it nor discourages it. But if one does keep plants in one’s home for adornment, then one should indeed take care of them.

Q-2: I have plants at home, but someone recently told me that when I am having my periods I should not touch my plants (clean my plants etc.), otherwise the plants will dry out or die, I have noticed it because some of my plants died & I got very upset. Is this true, and what should I do?

The menstruation of a woman is a phenomena of nature; and to treat the menstruating women as ‘untouchables’, or prohibit them from cooking, or touching anything, etc. was one amongst the many injustices and oppression done towards the womenfolk in the days of ignorance before Islam!

The only restrictions Islam lays upon the women who experiences her menstruation are: that she must not offer her prayers, or fasts, or enter a mosque, or touch of copy of the Glorious Quran, and she is prohibited from the act of actual sexual intercourse with her husband during that period. Other than the above few listed restrictions, she is free to do everything she would do when not in her period of menstruation.

The statement of the person who told you that it is prohibited in Islam for a menstruating woman to touch a plant, or anything else (other than the actual copy of the Glorious Quran), or that her touching by itself will harm the plant in any way whatsoever is an absolutely baseless claim, a falsehood, and a blatant and manifest lie.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 16 Surah Nahl verse 116:

116 But say not for any false thing that your tongues may put forth "This is lawful and this is forbidden" so as to ascribe false things to Allah! For those who ascribe false things to Allah will never prosper.

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