PURIFICATION SECTION · 107 – APPROACHING A MENSTRUATING WOMAN OTHER THAN INTERCOURSE
267 – From Maymūna (may Allah be pleased with her): She said, "When one of the family of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) was menstruating, he would have a shirt on that covered her from the middle of her thighs or her knees, and if that shirt veiled her, he would benefit from her from above it." [210]
EXPLANATION
Mubāshara: It means skin-to-skin contact. That is, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), if his wives were menstruating and the area between their knees and waists was covered, would benefit from their other limbs.
268 – From ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her): It is narrated that she said: "When one of us menstruated, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) would command her to tie a waist-wrapper (izar) covering the area between the navel and the knees, and then he would lie down next to her. On one occasion, she said, 'Her husband would benefit from her.'" [211]
269 – ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "While I was menstruating and in contact with the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), we would lie under a single cover. If something from me touched the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), he would wash the spot, and the washing would not go beyond the affected area. He would then pray in it. If something touched his garment, he would wash the spot that was touched, and the washing would not go beyond the affected area, and he would pray in it." [212]
EXPLANATION
Tamīs: It means to touch by hand in the sense of intercourse, and also in the sense of a woman menstruating. Here, although it seems to emphasize menstruation, I preferred the meaning of touching to express being together and translated it accordingly.
270 – ʿUmāra ibn Gurāb relates: The aunt of ʿUmāra asked ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her), "One of us menstruates, yet she and her husband have only one bed. Can they both sleep in the same bed?" ʿĀʾisha replied: "Let me tell you what the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do at that time: One night he entered my room and went straight to his place of prayer. He did not come from the prayer area until he was cold and I was sleepy. Then he said to me, 'Come closer.' I replied, 'I am menstruating.' He said, 'Expose your thighs.' I did so. He placed his cheek and chest on my thighs. I would lean over him until the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) warmed up and fell asleep."
EXPLANATION
There is weakness in the chain of this hadith; it cannot be used as legal proof.
271 – ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "When I was menstruating, I would descend from the mattress to the mat. Until I became pure, I would not approach or be close to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him)."
EXPLANATION
Misal: It means mattress. Al-Ṭayyibī says this hadith is abrogated, or that 'approaching' here means intercourse.
272 – ʿIkrima narrated from one of the wives of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him): When the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to benefit from his menstruating wife, he would cover her private area with a cloth.
273 – From ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her): The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) would command us at the beginning of our menstruation to put on our shirts, and he would engage in mubāshara with us. Which of you can control your nafs (the lower self) as much as your Prophet could control his nafs? [213]
EXPLANATION
Some of the above-mentioned hadiths indicate that mubāshara is permissible, some that it is not permissible, and some that it is not permissible between the navel and the knees. Due to this difference in narration, there has arisen a difference of opinion among the scholars.
1 – Having intercourse with a menstruating woman is unanimously forbidden.
2 – It is unanimously permissible to engage in mubāshara by rubbing with the male organ outside the area between the navel and the knees.
3 – Regarding rubbing the area between the navel and the knees without intercourse, there are three different opinions among Imām al-Shāfiʿī, the Hanafis, and the Mālikis: that it is forbidden, that it is disliked, and that it is permissible. The most correct is that it is disliked (makrūh). Istihāḍa: It means excuse-bleeding. If a woman sees blood for less than three days or more than ten days, this is called istihāḍa blood. According to Imām al-Aʿẓam and Imām Aḥmad, if a woman who has given birth sees blood for more than forty days, this blood is excuse-bleeding. At the end of the fortieth day, she performs ghusl and continues her worship. According to Imām al-Shāfiʿī, if a woman who has given birth sees blood after sixty days, this blood is excuse-bleeding. At the end of the sixtieth day, she performs ghusl, and even if the blood continues after that, it is considered an excuse. She performs her prayers, and if a woman with excuse-bleeding loses blood throughout the year, she renews her ablution for each prayer time and performs her prayer. In the hadiths that will come later, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told Umm Ḥabībah, "You perform ghusl," this was a special case for her. Because at first, she was instructed to perform ghusl for every prayer, but when it was understood that she could not bear it, she was told to combine ẓuhr and ʿaṣr, maghrib and ʿishāʾ, and perform ghusl once for two prayer times. A woman with excuse-bleeding considers the number of days of her regular period each month as menstruation, then performs ghusl and resumes worship. But if her period is irregular, she considers ten days each month as menstruation, and after ten days, she performs ghusl and, taking ablution for each prayer time, performs her prayers.