122 – ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to tell me to wrap myself with a waist-cloth, and then he would touch me while I was menstruating.” Agreed upon. (1)

Glossary of Ḥadīth Terms
• “fa-attazir”: meaning, “I put on an izār,” a lower garment that covers the private parts and the surrounding area; its plural is wizrāt. Al-Matarezī remarked that this widespread pronunciation is colloquial; the correct classical form is “iʾtazir,” with two hamzahs—the first a connecting hamzah, the second part of the root. Al-Zamakhsharī likewise declared “ittazara” (with assimilation) incorrect, because only an original consonant, not a changed one, may be assimilated.
• “fayubāshirunī”: from mubāsharah—when a man places his bare skin against that of his wife; it is derived from basharah, “the outer skin.”

Points Derived from the Two Ḥadīths

1. A menstruating woman is ritually pure: her body, perspiration, and clothes are all clean. One may touch her, and she may attend to household tasks such as preparing food and drink.
2. They teach the duty of differing from the Jews, who would neither share food with a menstruating woman nor stay near her.
3. Everything is lawful with one’s menstruating wife except intercourse. A husband may ask her to put on a waist-cloth or any short or long garment and may then enjoy any part of her body so long as it is not the site of menstruation, namely the genital area. Enjoyment of the parts above the navel and below the knee is unanimously permitted.