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:

Can a women in her periods - menstruation say her five times namaz? If not then for how many days she has to abstain from namaz?

(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:

Prayers in menses

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.

Your Question: Can a women in her periods - menstruation say her five times namaz?

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to Fatimah bint Abu Habish, "Do not pray during your period. After it has ended, perform ghusl and pray." (Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

Physical purification is an absolutely obligatory pre-condition for prayer in Islam, and a women who is experiencing her menses would be in a state of impurity until her periods have ended and she has purified herself by performing a ‘ghusl’ or full-bath of purification. The Messenger of Allah (saws) excused the menstruating from offering her prayers until she has purified herself, and she is not to make up those missed prayers.

Mu'adhah said, "I asked 'Aishah, 'Why must we make up the fasts missed due to our menstruation, and not the prayers?' She said, 'That was what the Messenger of Allah told us to do. We were ordered to make up the fasts, and we were ordered not to make up the prayers." (Related by Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Maajah, Sunan Abu Dawood, and Tirmidhi.)

Your Question: If not then for how many days she has to abstain from namaz?

The believing woman who experiences her periods should abstain from offering her prayers from the moment her periods starts until the day it would normally end, after which she would purify herself with a ‘ghusl’ or full bath of purification and recommence her prayers. She is neither required nor obliged to make up those missed prayers.

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