As for the young child, any blood she sees is deemed to be blood caused by illness or a disorder, since menstruation does not occur at such a young age. No specific age limit is set; rather, the criterion is that women are certain that a girl of her age does not menstruate.

As for the young girl of an age when menstruation is possible, any blood she sees is deemed menstrual blood and is a sign that she has reached puberty.

As for the woman who has reached puberty, any blood she sees is deemed menstrual blood unless she sees it during a period of irregular bleeding. This occurs, for example, when she bleeds for fifteen days, the bleeding stops, and then it resumes two or three days later, before the minimum interval of purity has elapsed. This is irregular bleeding, since it can neither be added to the preceding menstrual period nor be considered a new one, as the requisite interval of days has not elapsed between them.

As for the older woman who appears no longer to menstruate, any blood she sees is accorded the rulings of menstruation, for Allah, exalted is He, says:

“And they ask you about menstruation. Say, ‘It is harm.’” [Al-Baqara: 222]

He thus states that menstruation is the harmful discharge issuing from the private parts. If the woman experiencing that discharge is of an age at which menstruation remains possible, it is deemed menstrual blood.

As for the elderly woman who is not likely to menstruate, any blood she sees is deemed to be blood caused by illness or a disorder, since menstruation does not occur in advanced old age, just as it does not occur in early childhood. Here too, no specific age limit is set; rather, the criterion is that women are certain that a woman of her age does not menstruate. Do you not see that a woman of seventy or eighty does not menstruate?

Section

If a woman continues to experience bleeding that has been deemed menstrual, there are six opinions concerning her case. The first is that she observes her usual menstrual days, then waits an additional three days as a precaution. Thereafter, she is considered to have irregular bleeding: she performs the ritual bath, prays, fasts, and may circumambulate the Kaaba if she is performing Hajj; her husband may also have intercourse with her. This applies unless she sees blood unfamiliar to her after the minimum interval of purity has elapsed, counted from the day on which her bleeding was deemed irregular. This is the apparent meaning of Ibn al-Qāsim’s report from Mālik in al-Mudawwana, for he said in the discussion of Hajj that the man who hires out the mount is required to wait for her only for her usual menstrual days