When Does Postpartum Bleeding End?
Rulings on Menstruation and Postpartum Bleeding in Islamic Jurisprudence
Summary
Sh. Ali Mashhour continues his commentary on Al-Wajeez, focusing on the chapter regarding menstruation (al-hayd) and postpartum bleeding (nifas) in the book of purification. He emphasizes the importance of this knowledge for all Muslims, as everyone has mothers, daughters, and sisters who need to understand these rulings. Sh. Ali Mashhour explains that menstruation and postpartum bleeding, while known experiences, are defined in later fiqh books for clarity. He clarifies that menstruation has no fixed time limit and varies between women, while postpartum bleeding has a maximum duration of 40 days based on the hadith of Umm Salamah. Sh. Ali Mashhour notes that after 40 days, any continued bleeding is no longer legislatively considered postpartum, even if it may be medically classified as such.
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Continuing in Al-Wajeez in the book of purification, we are in the last chapters in the book of purification. This is the final point before we move into the book of salah and begin with the rulings on salah and then and iqamah and so forth. And this is the chapter regarding the rulings of al-hayd when he fasts, which is menstruation and postpartum. And you may think, "Well, why does this apply to us?" Of course, it applies to us if there's any women listening. I don't think so. But perhaps online. But definitely applies to every one of us, male or female, because we all have mothers, daughters, sisters, and we are to have enough knowledge to be able to function our respective households. And that there not be a single member of our household that is functioning upon ignorance with respect to repeating acts of worship. This is paramount, very.
[Arabic recitation]
A death a definition of menstruation. And what is menstruation? This is one of those things that does not need to be defined necessarily. Because it is something which is known experienced by 99% of all of women from humankind. However, in the earlier books of fiqh, for instance, the first complete book of fiqh ever written, which is the book of al-Shafi'i rahimahullah, Kitab which is later referred to as Kitab al-. And those earlier books, Muwatta' al-Imam Malik and so forth, you'll not find definitions of things that are known. They won't define things salah. They won't give a definition for things wudu. They won't give definitions for things.
[Arabic recitation]
Because these are things which are known. We we don't need to define them. Every Muslim knows these things. In later books of fiqh, predominantly after the fourth century, when there became, you know, a lot of a lot of detail and a lot of argument and a lot of debate and so forth, we find that scholars started to define these things in those later books. But really, the best definition for menstruation, postpartum is these are things which are known to women. He says that there is no particular time set for length or shortness of a menstrual cycle. It could be long, could be short, and it changes. It doesn't have to be the same always for every single woman. As a matter of fact, there is a narration in which a woman came to Ali bin Abi Talib in his time and she had her cycle three times in the same month. Right? And this is something which is possible. It's an anomaly, it's very strange. Usually it's a once-a-month occurrence, but it's possible. Likewise, the length of it. It could be the majority of the month and it could be a very short amount. It's not something which is judged by a time limit. Contrary to a nifas, postpartum has a time limit. It does not go beyond 40 days in the correct opinion as Salamah radi.
[Arabic recitation]
That 40 days is the longest amount of time there could be postpartum bleeding. After that, it's no longer postpartum. So,.
[Arabic recitation]
This is one difference between al-hayd.
[Arabic recitation]
Postpartum and menstrual cycle they have the same ruling all through the legislation of Islam in everything except for three things. And one of those three things is in their length they don't have a minimum but they have a maximum. Postpartum has a maximum and menstruation does not. He says He says and a nifas postpartum this is the blood which comes out of a woman after she has given birth because of giving birth. This is called postpartum. And the longest it can be is 40 days. The longest it can be is 40 days.
[Silence]
He then mentions a narration in a sunan on the authority of Salamah the prophet Alaihi Wasallam's wife she said that a woman who was experiencing postpartum she would spend 40 days at most at the time of the prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam experiencing that postpartum.
[Silence]
So, with respect to postpartum, we have one of two things happening for it to end. Number one, she reaches 40 days. Number two, it stops. Whichever of those two things happens first, this is the end of postpartum. So, she will either reach the end of her postpartum, right? Or 40 days at absolute most. After that, even if blood is still coming out, it is not considered to be postpartum. Maybe clinically it is. Maybe it could be referred to, you know, in people's common tongue as postpartum, but in the legislation of Islam, postpartum is 40 days. At 41 days, it's no longer referred to legislatively.
[Arabic recitation]