‘Whoever travels a path upon which he seeks knowledge,
Allah takes him along a path to Jannah.’ (Bukhari)
‘Deeds depend on intentions; each person receives
according to what he intends.’ (Muttafuqqun ‘alaih)
Before we begin,
one should stop and rectify one’s intention on reading whatever’s posted under
this topic (now and in the future, insya Allah). One’s intention should be to seek Allah’s
pleasure and nothing else. Then one will
not only attain the full reward of seeking beneficial knowledge for Allah’s
sake but also insya Allah be able to reform one’s worship.
Beneficial
knowledge is that knowledge which increases one in fear and love of Allah, has
an effect on one’s soul and action according to Imam Ghazali (rahmatullahi
‘alaih). Also, Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi
wasallam) used to make doa for protection against non-beneficial knowledge.
It is only by
means of knowledge will one be able to distinguish between what’s right and
wrong. Once this is achieved, then one
can then worship Allah as how He is supposed to be worshipped.
Knowledge is
divided into two:
- Personal
obligatory knowledge – obligatory upon every sane, adult Muslim and if one doesn’ obtain it, one is sinful
- Communal
obligatory knowledge – a certain number of people need to obtain the knowledge
such that they lift the obligation whether it be secular or Islamic knowledge
Another thing
to bear in mind is that experiencing menstruation or lochia neither renders a
woman impure and nor does it indicate a man is more superior to a woman. This is a huge misconception. A woman merely enters into a state of
impurity but the woman in herself is not impure.
With regards
to superiority, it is judged based on one’s taqwa and nothing else. Therefore, a menstruating woman who is
obedient to Allah is definitely more superior in the eyes of Allah to a man who
is disobedient to Allah.
One should
also know that rulings are divided into five which are:
1)
Wajib
– one is rewarded for doing and punished for leaving (eg. praying)
2)
Mustahab
– one is rewarded for doing but not sinful for doing (eg. sunnahs)
3)
Mandub
– by leaving it one is neither rewarded nor punished (eg. eating, sleeping,
drinking). However, by having an intention
for Allah, one changes it into an act of worship for Allah therefore one will
gain reward for it
4)
Makruh
– one is not punished for doing but rewarded for leaving it (eg. praying at the
end of prayer time)
5)
Haram
– one is rewarded for leaving it and sinful for doing it (eg. praying at
sunrise)
Last but not
least, may Allah accept from this insignificant writer and from all of us. May Allah guide and keep us on the straight
path. Amin.
LESSON 1 – INTRODUCTION & TYPES OF DISCHARGE
In this
lesson, we’ll give a brief introduction about menstruation and its sisters
insya Allah. We’ll start with the
absolute basics and fundamentals of menstruation and its sisters. At the end of the lesson, some Q&As which
were asked during the course will be provided.
Also, a ‘Test Your Understanding’ section will be included to help
reinforce what has been discussed. This
is true throughout the entire course, insya Allah.
First things
first. It is absolutely essential for a
woman who experiences menstruation, lochia or abnormal uterine bleeding to keep
a record. For those of us who have not
been doing this, it’s about time we start.
This will help us understand further about the cycles we experience and
also make things easier for the scholar one seeks assistance from when needing
assistance in clarifying an issue.
This record
is no ordinary record like one’s organizer, rather, this record acts as one’s
guide to worship Allah properly. So, it
is necessary for one to keep this record in one’s reach. It can be any type of record (ie. hardcover
book, electronic organizer, a table in Microsoft Words or even an application
downloaded into one’s phone). However,
the trick is that, it has to be easily accessible and always at hand.
Okay, what
goes into this record? Well, since this
record is unique, proper details must be recorded into it. We need to keep track of when our menses,
lochia or abnormal uterine bleeding starts and ends.
Then, we also need to jot down the times for the starting and ending of
these occurrences (ie. the exact time and day).
Nobody likes dull and boring records, right? So let’s do ourselves a favour and include
the colour and strength (ie. dark or light) of the bleeding. Can’t see
any relevance to what we’re studying yet?
Don’t worry, things will become clearer as we go further into the
subject, insya Allah.
Another thing
that we might want to keep with us wherever we are is an extra pad! Accidents do happen and ‘Miss Scarlet’ loves surprises
sometimes so it’s better to get our umbrellas ready before it rains!
Example Record:
Menses
Day: Friday
Date: 10th January
Time: 6:00am
Colour: Dark red
Ghusl
Day: Monday
Date: 13th January
Time: 9:00pm
RULING
Q. What is
the ruling of studying the jurisprudence of menstruation?
A. It is ‘ilmul haal (ie. personal
obligatory knowledge) for girls nearing puberty, husbands (not men) and
guardians of girls (eg. father). This
means that one should know the rulings of a particular action when
required or intending to do something at a specific time or in a specific
state.
DISCHARGE & BLOOD
Discharge is
divided into two:
1.
Blood
– impure
2.
Normal
vaginal discharge – pure; clear, white or creamy (shade of white)
Blood is
further divided into three:
1.
Menstruation – natural healthy bleeding that exits the uterus through the vagina and
out of a girl at least 9 lunar years in age, that is not caused by illness
2.
Lochia – blood that exits the uterus through the vagina after the fetus leaves
the womb (baby has to totally leave the womb)
3.
Abnormal
uterine bleeding (AUB) – everything besides
menstruation and lochia
CONDITIONS
For one to experience a
valid menstruation, the following conditions must be met:
1)
Minimum period of bleeding: At least 24 hours
2)
Maximum period of bleeding: 15 days
3)
Minimum period of purity: At least 15 days
4)
Maximum period of purity: None
COLOUR
When one
speaks about blood, only one colour comes to mind – red. But, interestingly,
the scholars of jurisprudence have given specific colours in relation to the
topic of menstruation and red is not the only one. Subhanallah!
And here we’re thinking that fiqh is not interesting! The colours of blood are:
Black
|
Red
|
Brown
|
Yellow
|
Dusky
|
Strength decreases: Black strongest, dusky weakest.
Therefore when
one sees discharge from any of the colours mentioned above, it would be
considered as blood.
Normal
vaginal discharge and AUB cause minor ritual impurity
when they exit from the vagina. Menstruation
and lochia on the other hand cause major ritual impurity by mere
presence in the vagina even if they don’t exit.
CHECKING ONE’S DISCHARGE
One should
not take into consideration of what one sees on one’s pad to give a valid
ruling (ie. whether the discharge is blood or normal vaginal discharge) as this
is incorrect. This is because the discharge would have oxidized when it exits from the vagina and thus,
whatever remains on the pad is not necessarily its actual colour.
Consider this
diagram:
For that
reason, only fresh discharge may be used to determine the ruling and
this is achieved by applying the method prescribed below. The method on checking one’s discharge differs
for a virgin and non-virgin.
For a virgin,
she should observe the following:
1.
Firmly place a piece of white cloth (kursuf),
can be toilet roll, between the labial lips
2.
Wait long enough for discharge to be appear by the
cloth
3.
Remove the cloth and immediately check the color of
the fresh discharge
Reminder: A virgin should never endanger her virginity
by inserting anything in herself invasively.
For a non-virgin:
1.
Insert a cotton ball into her vagina
2.
Remove the cotton ball and immediately check the color
of the fresh discharge
Q&A
SECTION
1.
It is said that normal vaginal discharge is pure. Can we then pray with some staining of the
discharge on our undergarment or does it need to be changed even if there was a
little discharge found on it?
Yes,
no need to change even if a lot because it is pure.
2.
Has Ustadha ever come across the term ‘dammul
wilaadah’ which necessitates ghusl? If
yes, could Ustadha please explain what it is?
Is it the same as lochia?
The term dammul
wilaadah, also called dammul talq, is usually used to describe the blood that
sometimes exists during labor and in the process of child birth, but before the
baby has fully exited the womb. Therefore it is not considered lochia (ie. AUB,
don’t need ghusl).
3.
Ustadha, if we checked our underwear/pad immediately
after discharge exits without either using the kursuf/cotton ball, will the
ruling be valid? Or do we still need to
undergo the procedure of either using a kursuf/cotton ball?
In theory it will be valid if you're
certain that it's fresh and the underwear/pad is white enough to show the true
color. I believe it's hard to achieve
this in practice, because by the time the discharge exits and one goes to the
bathroom to check, the discharge would have oxidized.
4.
Ustadha mentioned that anything that exits the vagina
breaks the wudhu’. Does this include
wind too?
Yes, wind that exits the vagina
breaks the wudu.
5.
In class
today you said blood is always impure and always causes major ritual impurity.
On Q.4 of week 1 quiz it states that abnormal bleeding does not cause major
ritual impurity. Please could you clarify.
Thank you for your question. We
didn't say that blood always causes major impurity, we said that only if this
blood is menses or lochia it would cause major ritual impurity (please check
lesson 1 handout). This is one point. Blood being always impure is a separate
point.
So we say:
- Menstrual and lochial blood causes major ritual impurity.
- AB blood when it exits the vagina causes minor ritual impurity.
- Whether this blood is menes, lochia or AB, it is always impure.
6.
How far does the white cotton need to be inserted to
check ourselves?
When
a woman squats, the outside of her private part will show and this is where she
should be checking internally. What
shows by squatting differs for a virgin and a non-virgin.
Next Lesson: Unlawful Matters In Menstruation and Lochia (Insya Allah)
