21 – Menstruation

Menstrual blood is that which is distinctly black, thick, and foul-smelling; whenever such blood appears from a woman she is considered menstruating.

Fatimah bint Abī Hubaysh once suffered from continual non-menstrual bleeding (istihāda). The Prophet ﷺ told her: “When it is the blood of menses, it is black and recognizable; when that occurs, stop the prayer. If it is the other blood, then perform ablution and pray, for it is only a vein.” (D: 45, 50; N: 66; Qat: 76; Mus: 174) Ibn Ḥazm (2/164) also cited it through Ibn Abī ʿAdī—Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr—al-Zuhrī—ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr—from her.

This isnād is ḥasan (good). Ibn al-ʿArabī rated it sound in al-ʿĀriḍah, while al-Ḥākim said, “Authentic according to the criteria of Muslim,” and al-Dhahabī concurred—though the reality is not as they claimed.

Al-Ḥākim (1/174) further transmitted the report through Suhayl ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ—al-Zuhrī—ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr—from Asmāʾ bint ʿUmays, who said: “I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, Fatimah bint Abī Hubaysh has been bleeding continuously for such-and-such a time and therefore has not prayed.’ He exclaimed, ‘Glory be to Allah! That is from Satan. Let her sit in a wash-basin; when she sees a yellowish tinge on the surface of the water, she should bathe for Zuhr and ʿAṣr with one ghusl, bathe for Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ with one ghusl, bathe for Fajr, and between those times perform ablution.’” Al-Ḥākim judged it “authentic according to the criteria of Muslim,” and al-Dhahabī agreed, and this ruling is correct. The report was also recorded by D (48), Qat (79), and Ṭaḥā (60–61).