Rules of Istihadha

400. In the case of little Istihadha, a woman should perform separate Wudhu for every prayer and should change the pad. And if some blood is found on the outer part of her private parts, she should make it Pak with water.

401. In the case of Mutawassita, it is obligatory for a woman to perform a Ghusl every day for her daily prayers, and she should act accordingly to the rules of little Istihadha as explained in the foregoing rule. If she does not perform Ghusl intentionally or forgetfully, she should perform Ghusl before Zuhr and A'sr prayers. And if she misses even that, then she should do Ghusl before praying Maghrib and I'sha. She would do this regardless of whether bleeding continues or stops.

402. In the case of excessive bleeding, apart from what has been mentioned in the foregoing rule for Mutawassita, the woman should change the cotton or pads tied to her private parts, or make it Pak with water, and she should perform one Ghusl for Zuhr and A'sr prayers and another one for Maghrib and I'sha prayers.
She should offer A'sr prayers immediately after Zuhr prayers and if she allowed any lapse of time between them, she should do Ghusl again for A'sr prayers. Similarly if she keeps any time gap between Maghrib and I'sha prayers, she should do Ghusl again for I'sha prayers. Since the obligation of Wudhu in excessive bleeding is debatable, as per precautionary measure, she should perform Wudhu with the intention of complying with her duty. If she is praying Zuhr and A'sr, and Maghrib and I'sha prayer together, performing Wudhu in middle of them is against precautionary measures in excessive bleeding, except if it is performed during Iqamah of the next prayer, so that it could not be regarded as lapse of time between two prayers generally.

403. If Istihadha blood is seen before the time for prayers has set in and later stops, if she has not performed Wudhu or Ghusl for that bleeding, she should perform Wudhu or Ghusl at the time of prayers.

404. A woman whose Istihadha is medium should perform Ghusl and Wudhu; in whichever order she performs, it is valid. But if a woman with excessive Istihadha wishes to do Wudhu, she should do so before the Ghusl.

405. When a woman who had little Istihadha finds out after Fajr prayers that her Istihadha has developed into medium one, she will have to perform Ghusl for Zuhr and A'sr prayers. And if that change occurs after Zuhr, A'sr prayers, then she will perform a Ghusl for Maghrib and I'sha prayers.

406. If a woman finds out after Fajr prayers that her little or medium Istihadha had developed into an excessive one, she should perform one Ghusl for Zuhr and A'sr prayers and another one for Maghrib and I'sha prayers. And if her bleeding develops into an excessive one after Zuhr and A'sr prayer she should perform a Ghusl for Maghrib and I'sha prayers.  

407. If a woman in medium or excessive Istihadha performs a Ghusl before the time of prayer set in, her Ghusl is void. Rather, as per obligatory precaution, she must ensure that there is no time gap between Ghusl and prayers, except by Nafila prayers. 

408. A woman in little and medium Istihadha must do Wudhu for all other prayers, Wajib or Mustahab. But if she desires to repeat, as a precautionary measure, the daily prayers which she has already offered or if she wishes to offer once again with congregation the prayers which she had offered individually, she should perform all the acts which have been mentioned with regard to Istihadha.
In the case of Namaz of Ihtiyat, "forgotten Sajdahs", "forgotten Tashahud", “Sajda-e-Sahv” which are performed immediately after the prayers, it is not necessary for her to follow the rules of Istihadha.

409. After the bleeding of a Mustahadha woman has stopped, she should follow the rules of Istihadha only for the first subsequent prayers which she may offer. For further prayers which follow, the rules of Istihadha would not be necessary.

410. If a woman does not know what kind of Istihadha she has, she should insert into herself some cotton and wait a while to ascertain. And when she knows which kind of Istihadha it is, she should follow the rules prescribed. And, if she is sure that the type of Istihadha will not change by the time she stands for her prayers, she may carry out the test before the time for prayers sets in.

411. If a Mustahadha woman starts her prayers without making any investigation, with the intention of compliance with the orders of Allah and to act according to her duty, then her prayers are valid. For example, if her Istihadha was little, and she acted according to its rules, her prayers will be correct and valid.
But if she did not have the intention of obeying Allah or her act were not according to her duty, then her prayers would be void. For example, she followed the rules of little Istihadha while in actual fact she was in the medium one, her prayers would be invalid.

412. If a Mustahadha woman cannot discern about her Istihadha, she should act in such a way that she becomes certain that she has performed her duty. For example, if she does not know whether her Istihadha is little or medium, or medium and excessive she should follow the rules prescribed for both. And if she does not know whether her Istihadha is little or medium or excessive she should follow the rules prescribed for all three kinds of Istihadha. But, if she knows which of the three kinds of Istihadha she has had previously, then she should act according to the rules for that kind of Istihadha.

413. If at the time of its initial appearance the blood of Istihadha remains within the interior of the body and does not come out, it does not nullify the Wudhu and Ghusl already performed by the woman. And if it comes out, it nullifies the Wudhu and Ghusl even if its quantity be very small. However, if it comes from the interior of the body and reaches a place where she can insert a cotton and it comes out with blood on it, as per precautionary measures, she should act according to the rules mentioned in this context.

414. If a Mustahadha woman examines herself after Namaz and finds no blood, she can offer other prayers with the same Wudhu, even if she knows that the blood would reappear.

415. A Mustahadha woman can defer offering prayers for as long as she knows that she will remain in the state of purity.

416. If a Mustahadha woman knows that before the time for prayers comes to an end, she will become totally Pak, or if she knows that at certain time, bleeding would stop for the time required for offering prayers she should wait and offer prayers when she is Pak.

417. If a Mustahadha, after performing Wudhu and Ghusl, finds that the bleeding has ceased, and she feels that if she delays the prayers she will become fully Pak, within the time required for Wudhu, Ghusl and Namaz, then she should delay the prayers, and offer them after performing fresh Wudhu and Ghusl when she has become fully Pak.
But if the time for prayers is limited, it will not be necessary for her to perform Wudhu and Ghusl, instead she should perform two Tayammums in place of Wudhu and Ghusl and for the subsequent prayers, she should perform Wudhu and Ghusl. And if there is not time left to even perform Tayammum then she should offer the prayers in that state and later she should perform Wudhu and Ghusl and offer her prayers again with the intention of Qadha.

418. When a Mustahadha woman whose bleeding has been medium or excessive becomes fully Pak, she should perform Ghusl. However, if she knows that no blood was seen after having Ghusl for the previous prayers, it is not necessary for her to perform Ghusl again.

419. A woman in the state of little Istihadha after performing Wudhu, and woman in the state of medium or excessive Istihadha after performing Ghusl and Wudhu, should commence their prayers immediately. However, there is no Ishkal (objection)

in reciting Adhan and Iqamah, and reciting supplications before commencing Namaz or performing Mustahab acts during Namaz like Qunut etc.

420. If a Mustahadha woman does not commence her prayers after Ghusl and in mean while sees blood, then she will have to perform Ghusl again and commence her prayer without any delay.

421. If the blood of Istihadha has a swift flow and does not stop, and if stoppage of blood is not harmful for her, she should try to prevent the blood from coming out before and after Ghusl. However, if it does flow constantly then she should try to prevent the blood from coming out after performing Wudhu and Ghusl. And if she ignores doing so, and the blood comes out, as per obligatory precaution, she should perform Ghusl and offer prayers all over again if she had already prayed.

422. If blood does not stop at the time of Ghusl, the bath is in order. But, if during the Ghusl the medium Istihadha becomes excessive it will be necessary for her to start Ghusl all over again.

423. For a Mustahadha woman who is fasting, it is a recommended precaution that she prevents the blood from issuing out of the body, throughout the day, as far as possible.

424. It is widely held that the fast of a woman whose Istihadha is excessive will be valid only if in the night preceding the day on which she intends to fast, she does Ghusl for the prayers of Maghrib and I'sha, and also, as per precautionary measures, perform the Ghusl for the prayers of Maghrib and I'sha of the day she kept the fast. Moreover, during the day time, as per precaution, a woman in the state of excessive Istihadha, and also the one with medium Istihadha, should perform Ghusls which are obligatory for the daily prayers.

425. If a woman becomes Mustahadha after A'sr prayers and does not do Ghusl till sunset, her fast will undoubtedly be in order. However, as mentioned in the foregoing rule, as per obligatory precaution, fast of a Mustahadha will be valid if she performs Ghusl for the prayers of Maghrib and I'sha of that day.

426. If a woman in little Isithadha finds out before starting the prayers that her bleeding has become excessive or medium, she should perform the rules prescribed for medium or excessive Istihadha. And if the medium Istihadha becomes excessive she should follow the rules prescribed for excessive Istihadha. And in case she has done Ghusl for medium Istihadha it would not suffice, and she should do Ghusl again for excessive Istihadha.

427. If the medium Istihadha becomes excessive while she is already in Namaz, she should break the prayers and perform Ghusl and Wudhu for excessive Istihadha and also perform other relevant acts and repeat the same prayers. And if she does not have time, neither for Ghusl nor for Wudhu, it is necessary for her to perform two Tayammuma instead of Ghusl and Wudhu respectively. If she has time to perform one of the two (i.e. Ghusl or Wudhu), then she should perform that and should perform Tayammum for the other one.
And if she finds that no time is left even for Tayammum then she should not break the prayers and complete the same in that very condition. As per obligatory precaution, it will be necessary for her to offer Qadha later. Similar rules will apply if during the Namaz her little Istihadha becomes medium or excessive.

428. If the blood stops during Namaz and the Mustahadha woman does not know whether or not it has also stopped internally, and if after her prayers she understands that bleeding had totally stopped, then she should perform Wudhu and Ghusl and offer her prayers again in the state of purity.

429. If the excessive Istihadha reduces to medium Istihadha, the Mustahadha should perform the rules prescribed for excessive Istihadha for the first prayers and then medium Istihadha for the later prayers. For example, if excessive Istihadha becomes medium before Zuhr prayers she should perform Ghusl for Zuhr prayers; and for the A'sr, Maghrib and I'sha prayers she should perform Wudhu.
However, if she does not perform Ghusl for Zuhr prayers and has time for A'sr prayers only, then she should perform Ghusl for A'sr prayers. And if she does not perform Ghusl for even A'sr prayers she should do Ghusl for Maghrib prayers. And if she does not do Ghusl for Maghrib prayers as well and has just enough time for I'sha prayers only, she should do Ghusl for I'sha prayers.

430. If the medium or excessive Istihadha stops before every Namaz and starts flowing again, she should do Ghusl before each Namaz.

431. If the excessive Istihadha reduces to little, the Mustahadha should perform Wudhu and Ghusl for the first prayer and for the later prayers she should follow the rules prescribed for little Istihadha. Similarly, if the medium Istihadha becomes little she should follow rules prescribed for medium Istihadha for the first prayers and those prescribed for little Istihadha for the later prayers.

432. If a Mustahadha woman neglects any one of the obligatory rules, even the changing of cotton, then her Namaz will be void.

433. As per precautionary measures, a Mustahadha woman cannot engage in any act which requires Wudhu as a prerequisite, like touching the script of the Quran, until it becomes obligatory on her etc., except Namaz.

434. A Mustahadha, who has performed her obligatory Ghusls, can enter a Masjid, remain inside it, and recite the chapters of the Qur'an which contain obligatory Sajdah. It is also lawful for her husband to have sexual intercourse with her, though she may not have performed all the acts which are required before the prayers such as changing the cotton and the pad.

435. If a woman who is in the state of excessive or medium Istihadha wishes to recite, before the time of prayers, a chapter of the Qur'an which contains an obligatory Sajdah or to enter a Masjid, she should, as per obligatory precaution, do Ghusl. And the same rule applies if her husband wishes to have sexual intercourse with her.

436. Namaz-e-Ayat (due to solar or lunar eclipse etc.) is obligatory for a Mustahadha woman and she should follow all the rules which have been explained in relation with the daily prayers.

437. When Namaz-e-Ayat becomes obligatory for a Mustahadha woman at the time of daily prayers and she wishes to offer these two prayers one after the other, she should do all those obligatory acts which she did for the daily prayers, and she cannot offer both of them with one Wudhu and one Ghusl.

438. If a Mustahadha woman wishes to offer Qadha prayers, she should follow the same rules that are applicable to the prayers offered within time. However, as per obligatory precaution, she should avoid offering Qadha prayers in the state of Istihadha, unless she has a fear of dying.

439. If a woman knows that the blood coming out of her body is not of a wound and cannot decide on it being the blood of Hayz or Istihadha, or Nifas or Istihadha because of the absence of the properties defined by the Shariah, she should act according to the rules in respect of Istihadha. And if she doubts whether it is Istihadha or some other blood and it does not possess other signs, as per obligatory precaution, she should follow the rules of Istihadha.