Menstruation and worship: a guide for sisters

When Aisha was upset that her period had started during Hajj, the Prophet (peace be upon him) told her: "This is the thing which Allah has ordained for all the daughters of Adam" (Sahih al-Bukhari 305). He would lean on her lap and recite the Quran while she was on her period (Sahih al-Bukhari 297), and when she worried about fetching something from the masjid, he said, "Your menstruation is not in your hand" (Sahih Muslim 298a).

The break from some acts of worship is a rule for a set time. It is a mercy, not a punishment, and it says nothing about your faith. You remain a full member of the community the whole month.

• Prayer (salah): you do not pray during your period, and you do not make those prayers up later. Aisha said the women "were ordered to complete the fasts, but were not ordered to complete the prayers" (Sahih Muslim 335c), and Sahih al-Bukhari 321 reports the same about prayer.
• Fasting (sawm): you do not fast during your period, and you make up missed Ramadan days later, one day for each day missed (Sahih Muslim 335c). Our Ramadan guide at /ramadan covers make-up days.
• Circling the Kaaba (tawaf): on Hajj or Umrah this waits until you are clean. You can do every other rite (Sahih al-Bukhari 305).
• Intimacy with your husband: this pauses until the bleeding ends and you have purified yourself (Quran 2:222).

If a prayer time had already begun before your bleeding started, or your period ends before a prayer time is over, scholars say you may owe that prayer. The schools differ on the details, so ask a teacher how your school handles it.

Your connection with Allah does not pause. Scholars of the Hanafi and Shafi'i schools list many acts that stay open to you:

• Personal prayer (dua) in your own words and in any language
• Remembrance (dhikr), such as SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah and Allahu Akbar, and sending blessings on the Prophet
• Listening to the Quran and thinking about its meaning
• Charity, learning and helping others, including at home
• Eid and community gatherings. The Prophet told women on their periods to come out for Eid and join the gathering of believers, while staying away from the prayer rows themselves (Sahih al-Bukhari 324)

This is a real difference of opinion, so you will hear different answers. We set out the views without choosing one for you.

• Hanafi and Shafi'i schools: a woman on her period does not recite the Quran aloud. She may listen to it, look at it, think about its meaning, and say Quranic phrases with the intention of dua or dhikr.
• Maliki school: recitation is allowed while the bleeding continues.
• Some contemporary scholars, such as an AMJA scholar and IslamQA, allow reciting from memory.
• Touching a printed Arabic Quran (mushaf): most scholars say not to. Some allow it with a covered hand, and one AMJA scholar allows touching it when there is a need. The same AMJA answer says a phone or tablet app is not a mushaf. The Hanafi school is also careful about touching printed translations and tafsir. Follow the view of the teacher you learn with, and do not feel guilty for following a recognised scholarly view.

You are welcome at Eid and at community gatherings. Staying inside the main prayer hall of a masjid is where the schools differ in detail. Most schools say not to stay in the prayer hall during your period, and they differ on passing through.

Many Canadian centres have classrooms, halls and offices that are not part of the prayer hall. Ask the imam or the office which rooms count as the masjid, and keep coming to classes and events.

Your period has ended when the bleeding stops. Many women check with a white cloth or pad for a clear or white discharge, or complete dryness. The schools differ on these signs and on how to treat brown or yellow discharge, so ask a teacher if you are unsure.

Then take the full-body wash (ghusl): make the intention and let water reach your whole body. The Prophet told a woman to leave prayer during her period, then wash and pray when it ended (Sahih al-Bukhari 306). After that you pray, and in Ramadan you fast, as normal. The step-by-step ghusl is in our wudu and ghusl guide at /tools/wudu-ghusl.

Not all bleeding counts as a period. Bleeding outside your usual period is called istihadah, and it does not stop you from praying. The Prophet told a woman with ongoing bleeding to leave prayer only during her actual period, then wash and pray (Sahih al-Bukhari 306).

In the Hanafi school, if the bleeding is so constant that you cannot make wudu and pray a short obligatory prayer before it returns, you count as excused. You make one wudu when each prayer time begins, and it lasts until that time ends. Other schools set the details differently, and they use different day limits for sorting a period from other bleeding.

This is an introduction only. Keep a simple record of when bleeding starts and stops, see a doctor about the cause, and ask a knowledgeable woman teacher or local scholar about your own pattern.

Bleeding after giving birth follows the same rules as a period: you do not pray or fast while it continues, you make up missed Ramadan fasts later, and you do not make up the prayers. How long it can last is set differently by the schools, so ask a teacher about your own case rather than counting from a fixed number of days. If the bleeding stops earlier, you take ghusl and start praying again. The schools differ on the longest length.

New mothers should also follow their doctor's or midwife's advice, and ask a scholar about their own situation.

Questions about periods are among the most common ones new Muslim women ask, and there is nothing embarrassing about them. You can ask for a female teacher if you prefer. For your own pattern, especially irregular bleeding, a knowledgeable woman teacher or local scholar is the right person to ask. Our frequently asked questions page has more short answers on periods and worship.