Prayer of a
menstruating woman
Question: While I was praying, my menses began. What
should I do? Do I make up the prayers of the time of my menses?
Response: If the menses come after the beginning of a
time for prayer, for example, if you receive your menses a half an hour after
high noon, then you must make up that prayer after your bleeding has ended since
when its time began you were in a state of purity. This is based on Allaah's
statement, "Verily, the prayer is enjoined upon the believers at fixed hours"
(an-Nisaa. 103). Do not make up the prayers you missed while menstruating. This
is based on the lengthy hadeeth in which the Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa
sallam) said, "Is it not the case that when you menstruate, you do not pray or
fast?" There is a consensus of the scholars that the prayers missed during
menstruation are not to be made up. However, if she becomes pure [the bleeding
stops] and she has enough time to pray one rak'ah or more of a prayer, then she
must pray the prayer of that time in which she became pure. This is based on the
hadeeth of the Messenger of Allaah (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) "Whoever
catches one rak'ah of the 'Asr Prayer before sunset has caught the 'Asr Prayer."
If the woman becomes pure during the time of 'Asr or before sunrise and there is
enough time before sunset or sunrise to pray one rak'ah, then she prays 'Asr in
the former case and Fajr in the latter case.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen
Fataawa al-Mar.ah
