its manifest sense of purity. Whichever of the two outward readings he deems weightier is the one he must adopt. By this I mean that he will either (a) posit no ellipsis in the verse and take the words “then, when they have purified themselves” (fa-idhā taṭahharna, 2:222) to indicate bathing with water, or (b) weigh the clarity of the phrase “then, when they have purified themselves” in referring to bathing against the clarity of the phrase “until they are pure” (yaṭhurn, 2:222) in referring to the cessation of blood. If one of the two indications still strikes him as more evident, he will align the interpretation of the other wording with it and proceed on the basis that both expressions in the verse convey a single meaning—either the cessation of bleeding or washing with water. The very nature of juristic reasoning does not require one to go beyond this in matters of this sort; reflect upon it.

In such a case it is permissible to say: “Every mujtahid is correct.”

As for Abū Ḥanīfah’s reliance on the maximum length of menstruation in this discussion, that view is weak.

Issue Three
The jurists have differed concerning a man who has intercourse with his wife while she is menstruating. Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, and Abū Ḥanīfah hold that he should seek Allah’s forgiveness and that nothing further is due from him. Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal says that he must give in charity one dīnār or half a dīnār. A group of ḥadīth scholars maintain that if the intercourse takes place while the blood is flowing a full dīnār is due, and if it occurs after the bleeding has stopped half a dīnār is due.

The root of their disagreement is their evaluation of the authenticity or weakness of the reports on the subject. It is related from Ibn ʿAbbās, from the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—regarding one who approaches his wife while she is menstruating, that “he gives a dīnār in charity”; another narration puts it at half a dīnār. The same ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās is also transmitted in the form: “If he has intercourse during the flow of blood, a dīnār is due; if during the cessation of blood, half a dīnār.” Yet another version states: “He gives two-fifths of a dīnār,” and this is the opinion adopted by al-Awzāʿī. Thus, whoever considers any of these ḥadīths authentic acts upon it, whereas those—for the most part the majority—who regard none of them as sound revert to the default principle that no ruling is established until substantiated by evidence.

Issue Four
The scholars have disagreed concerning the woman experiencing continuous bleeding (mustahāḍah). Some require her to perform a single complete purification only, once she is certain that her menses have ceased by one of the signs mentioned earlier, each school applying its own criteria for those signs. Those who oblige her to make just one purification fall into two groups: one obliges her to perform ablution for every prayer, while the other merely recommends it without making it compulsory.