the two scholarly views.

Those who prohibit her from reciting—including Ahmad, according to the well-known position reported from him, as well as al-Shāfi‘ī and Abū Hanīfah—differ over whether she and a woman with postnatal bleeding may recite the Quran after the bleeding has ceased but before performing the ritual bath. There are three views:

The first permits recitation for both women following menstruation and women following postnatal bleeding. This was the position chosen by al-Qādī Abū Ya‘lā, who said that it was the apparent meaning of Ahmad’s statements.

The second prohibits recitation for both.

The third permits it for women following postnatal bleeding, but not for women following menstruation. This was the position chosen by al-Khallāl, one of Ahmad’s followers.

The prohibition may therefore rest on each of the two grounds independently, or on their combination, such that neither alone would entail prohibition. If it is prohibited on the first ground, then it is not forbidden to her in cases of necessity, since she may remain in the mosque out of necessity—for example, if she fears someone will kill her unless she enters the mosque, if the cold is severe, or if she has no shelter other than the mosque.

It is authentically reported in Sahīh Muslim and elsewhere from ‘Ā’ishah—may Allah be pleased with her—that she said:

“The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to me, ‘Hand me the prayer mat from the mosque.’ I replied, ‘I am menstruating.’