Ibn al-Musayyab said: “Asmāʾ bint ʿUmays entered her post-natal period (1) after giving birth to Muḥammad at Dhuʾl-Ḥulayfa while they were setting out for the Farewell Pilgrimage, so Abū Bakr instructed her to perform a full bath and then to enter ihram for Hajj (2).
Al-Thawrī, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Karīm from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, narrated: “She experienced post-natal bleeding at Dhuʾl-Ḥulayfa. Abū Bakr thought of sending her back, but he consulted the Prophet ﷺ, who said, ‘Tell her to bathe, then to enter ihram for Hajj (3).’”
Al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad also transmitted from Asmāʾ a report to the same effect.
Ibn Saʿd related: Yazīd informed us, Ibn Abī Khālid informed us, from Qays, who said: “I entered with Abū Bakr—he was fair-skinned and slender—and I noticed that Asmāʾ’s hands were tattooed.”
Khālid al-Ṭaḥḥān added, on the authority of Ismāʿīl from Qays: “She was shielding Abū Bakr (4).”
(1) Al-Khattabi observes that the word nifas (post-partum bleeding) is derived from nafs, which in old Arabic can mean “blood.” Grammarians nevertheless distinguish the verb forms: for menstruation they say nafisat (with the first consonant pronounced with a short a), whereas for childbirth they say nufisat (with a short u). Al-Hafiz adds that this is the opinion of many linguists, but Abu Hatim cites al-Asma‘i as maintaining that in both contexts one may say nufisat (with the short u).
(2) Chain of transmission: sound (sahih). Recorded by Ibn Saad, vol. 8, p. 282. – Muhammad here is Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. – Dhu al-Hulayfa is a village six or seven miles from Madinah and serves as the miqat (entry point for ritual consecration) of the people of Madinah.
(3) Chain of transmission: sound (sahih). Recorded by Ibn Saad, vol. 8, p. 282. – A second version, transmitted by al-Qasim ibn Muhammad from Asma’, is found in Ibn Saad, vol. 8, p. 283; Ahmad, vol. 6, p. 369; and Muslim, Sahih, no. 1218, within Jabir ibn Abd Allah’s detailed account of the Prophet’s pilgrimage: “When we reached Dhu al-Hulayfa, Asma’ bint Umays delivered Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. She sent word to the Messenger of Allah: ‘What should I do?’ He said, ‘Perform ghusl (full ritual bath), bind yourself with a cloth, and enter ihram.’”
(4) Al-Tabaqat al-kubra, vol. 8, p. 283.