would perform a full ritual bath before every prayer.
5 – Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Telling istiḥāḍah blood from menstrual blood is problematic, so some distinguishing marker is indispensable, and there are three of them:
1) The woman’s personal habit. This is the strongest sign, for the default assumption is that her regular menstruation remains as it was.
2) Discernible characteristics: menstrual blood is dark and thick, whereas istiḥāḍah blood is bright red and fluid.
3) The average habit of most women, because the rule is to attach the individual to what is prevalent.
These three indicators are affirmed by the Sunnah and by sound reasoning, and they form the position of Imām Aḥmad, for the rulings of menstruation revolve around three hadiths:
(a) Personal habit: indicated by the hadith of Umm Ḥabībah bint Jahsh.
(b) Discernible characteristics: indicated by the hadith of Fāṭimah bint Abī Ḥubaysh.
(c) The prevalent habit among women: indicated by the hadith of Ḥamnah bint Jahsh.”
6 – If a woman’s period increases in length, comes earlier, or is delayed, the well-known view in the school of Imām Aḥmad is that whatever pattern recurs three times is deemed menstruation and thereby becomes her new habit. They provide further details regarding her prayer and fasting before this repetition occurs. Another report from Imām Aḥmad states that the new pattern is established without needing to repeat three times; this was the choice of al-Muwaffaq and others, and it is also the view preferred by Shaykh al-Islam.
Al-Fāʾiq says: “This is the preferred opinion.”
Al-Inṣāf states: “It is the correct view, the one to be followed, and women have no latitude to act on anything else.”
Al-Ikhtiyārāt records: “When a mutanaqqilah—a woman whose cycle changes in length, decrease, or timing—experiences such a change, that very change counts as menstruation until she becomes certain she is in a state of istiḥāḍah owing to a continuous flow of blood.”
7 – Shaykh al-Mubārakfūrī said: “What a number of jurists have established, namely the investigation…"