—ʿUthmān ibn Saʿd al-Kātib narrates from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Mulaykah, who said, “Fāṭimah bint Abī Ḥubaysh told me, ‘I came to ʿĀʾishah…’” The report continues, and in it the Prophet ﷺ said to ʿĀʾishah:

“Tell Fāṭimah bint Abī Ḥubaysh to abstain each month for the same number of days as her previous periods; then she should bathe, insert padding, bind herself securely, clean herself, and thereafter renew her ablution for every prayer and perform the prayer.”

This ḥadīth is recorded by Aḥmad (6/464), Dāraquṭnī (80), and Muslim (175), who ruled it “authentic.”

ʿUthmān ibn Saʿd al-Kātib was a Basran judged trustworthy and a prolific transmitter whose narrations have been compiled, though scholars other than al-Ḥākim regarded him as weak, and in al-Taqrīb he is graded “weak.” Additional narrations on the topic are listed in Nasb al-Rāyah.

Among those who held that a woman with chronic bleeding must make ablution for every prayer are al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad, Abū Thawr, and others. Abū Ḥanīfah and his two companions said she should perform one ablution for each prayer time. That view, however, involves an elliptical expression that requires proof; accordingly, al-Shawkānī (240), following Ibn Ḥajar, rejected it.

Vaginal intercourse with a menstruating woman is forbidden, but other forms of marital enjoyment are permissible. Anas ibn Mālik reported that when a woman among the Jews menstruated they would neither eat with her nor stay with her in the same house. The Companions asked the Prophet ﷺ about this, whereupon Allah revealed: “They ask you about menstruation. Say: It is a discomfort, so keep away from women during menstruation…” to the end of the verse. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said, “Do everything except sexual intercourse,” and in another wording, “except intercourse.” The ḥadīth is transmitted by all the major compilers except al-Bukhārī.