1. The basic presumption is permissibility unless evidence establishes prohibition.

2. Allah commanded the recitation of the Quran without restriction, and He praised those who recite His Book. Thus, whoever excludes someone from worshipping Allah by reciting the Quran, we require him to produce proof. If there is no explicit, authentic evidence prohibiting it, then she is commanded to recite.

If it is said: Could she not be analogized to a person in a state of major ritual impurity, since both are required to perform ghusl due to something that has exited the body?

The answer is that this is an analogy with a decisive distinction. A person in a state of major ritual impurity may, by his own choice, remove this impediment by performing ghusl, whereas a menstruating woman cannot choose to remove this impediment. Moreover, a menstruating woman’s period is generally prolonged, while the state of major ritual impurity does not last long, because the time for prayer will come and he will be required to perform ghusl.

A woman experiencing postnatal bleeding has even greater grounds for concession, since her period lasts longer than that of a menstruating woman. The view adopted by Shaykh al-Islam, may Allah have mercy on him, is a strong one.

If someone were to say: Since the scholars differ over this matter and there are weak hadiths concerning it (1), why not make the ruling dependent upon need? Thus, if she needs to recite—for her regular devotional recitations, to review what she has memorized lest she forget it, or because she needs to teach her children, or girls at school—then it is permissible for her. But when there is no need, she should follow the more cautious view; after all, she will not be deprived of the rest of the remembrance of Allah. If someone were to adopt this position, it would be a strong view.