Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The indicators that have been advanced are six. First, the established habit, for habit is the strongest of them, since the default presumption is that the state remains menstrual rather than otherwise. Second, distinguishing between types of blood, because dark, thick, foul-smelling blood is more likely to be menstrual than bright red blood. Third, referring to the prevailing habit of women, for the principle is to attach an individual case to what is most common. These three indicators are supported by both the Sunnah and sound reasoning.” He then mentioned the remaining indicators that have been proposed, and concluded: “The soundest view is to consider only the indicators established by the Sunnah and to disregard everything else.” End quote.

[What the woman experiencing istiḥāḍah must do once she is deemed ritually pure]

2 – Requirements for the mustaḥāḍah after the ruling of purity:

a) She must perform a full ritual bath (ghusl) when her recognized menses end, as explained earlier.

b) Before every prayer she washes her private parts to remove any discharge, inserts cotton or the like into the vaginal opening to stem the flow, fastens something over it so it stays in place, and then performs ablution when the time of each prayer begins. The evidence is the Prophet’s ﷺ statement about the mustaḥāḍah: “She refrains from prayer during the days of her periods, then bathes and performs ablution for every prayer.” (1) He ﷺ also said: “I recommend that you use cotton; pack the place with it,” and al-kursuf is cotton. And it is possible