“Whoever realizes that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and believes in him, yet does not know much of what he has brought, Allah will not punish him for what has not reached him. If He does not punish a person for failing to have faith until the proof reaches him after puberty, then it is even more fitting that He would not punish him for omitting some of faith’s conditions until the evidence reaches him. This is the well-established sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in such matters …”

He then cited a number of illuminating examples. One of them concerns the woman suffering from istiḥāḍah (non-menstrual bleeding) who said, “I experience a severe flow that keeps me from praying and fasting.” The Prophet instructed her to perform the prayers during the days of istiḥāḍah and did not order her to make them up.

I add: this woman was Fāṭimah bint Abī Ḥubaysh—may Allah be pleased with her. Her ḥadith is recorded by both Ṣaḥīḥs and others, and it appears in Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd (281).

A similar case is that of Umm Ḥabībah bint Jahsh, the wife of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, who suffered from istiḥāḍah for seven years; her report is likewise found in the two Ṣaḥīḥs and is also included in the Ṣaḥīḥ (283).

A third example is Ḥamnah bint Jahsh, the woman Ibn Taymiyyah alluded to, whose ḥadith states: “I suffer from profuse, intense bleeding—what do you rule in my case? It has prevented me from praying and fasting …” and so on. ⦗55⦘