Praise
be to Allah
Firstly:
If a woman has a
miscarriage, and that was after human features had appeared in the foetus,
then the bleeding that occurs because of that is regarded as nifaas. If it
happens before human features appear in the foetus, then the bleeding is
regarded as istihaadah [non-menstrual bleeding], which does not prevent her
from praying or doing tawaaf.
Human features
do not appear in the foetus before eighty days of pregnancy. See the answer
to question no. 37784.
Based on that,
with regard to this woman who had a miscarriage, if the miscarriage occurred
before eighty days of pregnancy, then the bleeding is not nifaas; rather it
is istihaadah, so it does not prevent her from praying or doing tawaaf, but
she must do wudoo’ for each prayer.
If the
miscarriage occurred after the soul had been blown into the foetus – i.e.,
after one hundred and twenty days of pregnancy, then the blood is definitely
nifaas.
If the
miscarriage occurred after eighty days and before one hundred and twenty
days, then the foetus should be examined; if human features can be seen,
then the bleeding is nifaas, but if there are no human features, then the
bleeding is istihaadah.
Secondly:
If the bleeding
is nifaas, and she had already entered ihraam for ‘umrah, then she cannot
circumambulate the Ka‘bah (tawaaf) according to the majority of fuqahaa’;
rather she must wait until she becomes pure [i.e., her nifaas ends] – even
if that happens before forty days. If she does not become pure before
‘Arafah, she should enter ihraam for Hajj, and will then be doing qiraan
[‘umrah followed by Hajj without exiting ihraam in between]. She should do
everything that the pilgrims do, namely standing [in ‘Arafah], stoning the
Jamaraat and staying overnight in Mina, but she should not do tawaaf until
she becomes pure. This is the view of the majority of scholars.
If she cannot
stay in Makkah until she becomes pure, then she may take medicine to stop
the bleeding, so that she will be able to do tawaaf when she is in a state
of purity. ‘Abd ar-Razzaaq narrated in his Musannaf (1/318) that Ibn
‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked about a woman whose
menstrual bleeding was lengthy in duration, and she wanted to take medicine
to stop the bleeding. Ibn ‘Umar did not see anything wrong with that, and he
recommended araak water [that is, he prescribed that medicine for her].
Mu‘ammar said: I heard Ibn Abi Nujayh being asked about that, and he did not
see anything wrong with it.
It was narrated
from ‘Ata’ that he was asked about a woman who was menstruating, then she
was given some medicine to stop her menses before it ended naturally; could
she do tawaaf? He said: Yes, if she sees the tuhr (white discharge
signalling the end of menses). But if she sees traces of blood, and does not
see the white tuhr, then she should not do tawaaf.
What is meant by
traces is a little blood or light bleeding when the menses has nearly ended.
If she cannot
take this medicine or she fears that she may be harmed by it, then Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) was of the view that if
she cannot stay in Makkah because she is part of a group that will leave
soon, and she cannot come back in order to do tawaaf, then in that case she
has no choice, so she should take measures to prevent the blood from falling
onto the ground, and do tawaaf. Some of the scholars have issued fatwas to
this effect.
The Permanent
Committee for Iftaa’ was asked: A woman came in ihram for ‘umrah, and after
reaching Makkah she got her menses. Her mahram has to leave immediately and
she does not have anyone in Makkah. What is the ruling?
They replied: If
the matter is as described, that the woman got her menses before doing
tawaaf, and she is still in ihram, and her mahram has to leave immediately,
and she has no mahram or husband in Makkah, then the condition of being in a
state of purity and free of menses in order to enter the mosque and do
tawaaf is waived in her case, out of necessity, and she should put on a
sanitary pad and do tawaaf and sa‘i for her ‘umrah, unless it is easy for
her to leave and then come back with her husband or mahram because she does
not live too far away and it is easy for her to come back. In that case, she
should leave and come back as soon as her menses ends in order to do the
tawaaf of her ‘umrah in a state of purity. Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Allah intends
for you ease and does not intend for you hardship”
[al-Baqarah
2:185]
“Allah does not
charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity”
[al-Baqarah
2:286]
“[Allah] has not
placed upon you in the religion any difficulty”
[al-Hajj 22:78]
“So fear Allah
as much as you are able”
[at-Taghaabun
64:16].
The Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “If I instruct you to
do a thing, do as much of it as you can.” And there are other religious
texts which confirm that making things easy and avoiding hardship are
religious objectives. What we have mentioned was also indicated in fatwas
issued by a number of scholars, including Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and
his student, al-‘Allaamah Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on them both).
End quote from Fataawa Islamiyyah (2/238).
Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: A woman got her menses
when she had not done tawaaf al-ifaadah, and she lives outside the Kingdom
(Saudi Arabia). The time has come for her to leave the Kingdom; she cannot
delay her departure and it is impossible for her to return to the Kingdom
once more. What is the ruling?
He replied: If
the matter is as described, a woman has not done tawaaf al-ifaadah, and she
has got her menses and cannot remain in Makkah or come back to it if she
leaves before doing tawaaf, then in this case she may take one of two
measures: either she may have an injection to stop the bleeding, and then do
tawaaf; or she may put on a sanitary pad to prevent the blood contaminating
the mosque, and do tawaaf, as this is a case of necessity. The view that we
have mentioned here is the most correct view, and is the one that was
favoured by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. Or the other alternative is to do
one of two things: either to remain in whatever state of ihram she is in, in
which case she is not permissible for her husband, and it is not permissible
for a marriage contract to be done with her if she is not married; or she is
to be regarded as being like one who was prevented from reaching the Ka‘bah,
so she should offer her sacrifice and exit her ihram. In that case, her Hajj
will not count. Both of these options are difficult, so the correct view is
that of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
regarding such cases of necessity. Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“[Allah] has not
placed upon you in the religion any difficulty”
[al-Hajj 22:78]
“Allah intends
for you ease and does not intend for you hardship”
[al-Baqarah
2:185].
But if this
woman is able to travel then come back when she has become pure, there is
nothing wrong with her leaving, then when she becomes pure (following the
end of her menses), she may come back and do the tawaaf of Hajj. But during
the intervening period, she cannot be intimate with her husband, because she
has not completed the second stage of exiting ihram. End quote from
Fataawa Islamiyyah (2/237).
Thirdly:
If this
woman thinks it most likely that her bleeding will not stop before ‘Arafah,
in addition to knowing that she will not be able to stay in Makkah until she
becomes pure, then she should do tawaaf for ‘umrah and exit ihraam therefrom,
then enter ihraam again for Hajj, and her Hajj will be valid. However, it is
better for her to do what is mentioned above, namely joining Hajj to ‘umrah,
so that she will be doing qiraan. It may so happen that she becomes pure one
or two days after ‘Arafah, in which case she will be able to do tawaaf when
she is in a state of purity.
And Allah
knows best.