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A woman experiencing istiḥāda (irregular bleeding) is not to be engaged in intercourse unless there is fear of undue hardship (1), and it is recommended that she perform ghusl (ritual bath) for every prayer.
[Post-Natal Bleeding]
The maximum length of post-natal bleeding (2) is forty days, with no set minimum. If she becomes pure within that period, she performs ghusl and resumes the prayer, while intercourse with her during it is disliked. Should the blood return within those days, its ruling is uncertain: she fasts, prays, and later makes up the obligatory fast (3). In all the matters mentioned above, post-natal bleeding carries the same rulings as menstruation.
(1) That is: out of fear of falling into zina (fornication) or the like.
(2) Nifas, in its linguistic sense, comes from tanaffus (breathing), that is, something that issues from the body, or from the phrase naffasa Allah kurbatahu, meaning “Allah relieved his distress.” In legal usage it refers to the blood the womb releases at childbirth or one to three days before it, provided there are indications of impending delivery such as labor pains.
(3) In manuscript B the text reads: “and she must make up the obligatory prayers.”
ولَا تُوطأ مُستحاضة إلا لخوفِ عَنَتٍ
(١)
، ويُستحبُّ غُسلها لكلِّ صلاةٍ.
[[النفاس]
]
وأكثرُ النفاس
(٢)
أربعون يومًا، ولا حدَّ لأقله، فإنْ طهرتْ فيها تطهَّرت وصلَّتْ، ويُكره وَطؤُها فيها، فإنْ عادَ الدمُ فيها فمشكوكٌ فيه، تصومُ وتصلِّي وتقضي الصومَ المفروضَ
(٣)
، وهو كحيضٍ فِيما تقدَّم.
* * *
(١) أي: لخوف الوقوع في الزنى ونحوه.
(٢) النفاس لغة: من التَّنفس، وهو الخروج من الجوف، أو مِنْ نفَّس الله كربته، أي: فرّجها. وشرعًا: دمٌ يرخيه الرحم مع الولادة أو قبلها بيومين أو ثلاثة مع أمارةٍ على الولادة كالتَّألُّم.
(٣) في (ب): "وتقضي الفروض"!!.