As for one from whom blood constantly flows from somewhere other than the two passages, he is not required to perform ablution—except according to the view of those who hold that a large amount of blood invalidates ablution when it exits from somewhere other than the two passages (1).
The stronger view is that ablution is not required of him, because there is no evidence that anything exiting from somewhere other than the two passages invalidates ablution; and the basic principle is that ritual purity remains in effect.
His statement, “She performs ablution for the time of every prayer,” means that a woman experiencing irregular bleeding must perform ablution for the time of each prayer if something has exited from her. If nothing has exited from her, she remains in her initial state of ablution (2).
His statement, “And she may offer obligatory and voluntary prayers,” means that if she performs ablution for a voluntary prayer, she may also offer an obligatory prayer, because her purification lifts the state of ritual impurity.
His statement, “And she is not to be approached sexually except in the case of fearing hardship,” means that a woman experiencing irregular bleeding may not
(1) See p. 271.
(2) This was the view formerly held by our shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him. He later retracted it and said that a woman experiencing istihada (non-menstrual bleeding), and others with a continuous nullifying condition, are not required to perform ablution (wudu) for every prayer; rather, it is recommended. Once they perform ablution, it is not invalidated except by another nullifier. This is the position of Malik and the preferred view of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on them both, since there is no evidence that it is invalidated, and because one with a continuous condition derives no benefit from ablution, as the condition remains ongoing and uninterrupted.
As for al-Bukhari's narration, “then perform ablution for every prayer,” Muslim deemed this addition weak. He indicated that he deliberately omitted it, saying, “In Hammad's hadith there is a phrase that we omitted.” Abu Dawud and al-Nasai likewise declared it weak, stating that all the reports are weak because Hammad alone narrated it. Ibn Rajab said that the hadiths commanding ablution for every prayer are inconsistent and defective. As for vaginal moisture, the view that it requires ablution is weaker than the view requiring ablution in cases of istihada, since a hadith has been reported concerning istihada, unlike vaginal moisture, despite its frequent occurrence among women. And Allah knows best. See: al-Ikhtiyarat, p. 15; Fath al-Bari by Ibn Rajab, 2:69-75.