Menstruation and postnatal bleeding …
His statement, “Menstruation”: this is the fifth of the acts that necessitate ghusl. When a woman menstruates, ghusl becomes obligatory for her. The cessation of menstruation is a condition; thus, if she performs ghusl before becoming pure, it is invalid, since purity is a condition for the validity of ghusl.
The evidence that ghusl after menstruation is obligatory includes the following:
- The hadith of Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh, who suffered from non-menstrual bleeding. The Prophet ﷺ instructed her to refrain from prayer for the duration of her usual menstrual period, then to perform ghusl and pray. (1) The basic principle concerning a command is that it denotes obligation.
The general sense of the act is also indicated by Allah’s saying:
“And do not approach them until they are pure. Then, when they have purified themselves …” [al-Baqarah 2:222]
That is, when they have performed ghusl. This shows that purification from menstruation was a matter commonly known among people. The verse alone does not establish its obligation; however, the hadith of Fatimah ﵂ is clear evidence that when a woman menstruates, she is obliged to perform ghusl. Yet the condition for this obligation is that the bleeding has ceased.
His statement, “Postnatal bleeding”: this is the sixth of the acts that necessitate ghusl.
Postnatal bleeding is the blood that comes out with childbirth, after it, or two or three days before it, when accompanied by labor pains.