Chapter: The Duration of the Woman in Postpartum Bleeding (Nufasa')
• I asked Abu 'Abd Allah Ahmad ibn Hanbal, I said: How long should the woman in postpartum bleeding refrain [from prayer]? He said: "Forty days." I said: What if she becomes pure before the forty days? He said: She should fast and pray. I said: May her husband have intercourse with her? He said: "It does not please me [that he should do so] until the forty days [have passed]." I said: What if he has intercourse with her before the forty days and she has not yet become pure? He said: "He incurs what one who has intercourse with a menstruating woman incurs." I said: What if the blood does not cease for the woman in postpartum bleeding within the forty days? He said: "She is in the position of a woman suffering from istihada (chronic irregular vaginal bleeding)."
• Ishaq ibn Ibrahim dictated to us, saying: "For the woman in postpartum bleeding, the duration is forty days; this is a past sunnah (established practice). Its ruling is not like the ruling of menstruation, because it has become clear to people that menstruation may last for many days, and for some women, it lasts for fewer days than that. As for the woman in postpartum bleeding, the majority of scholars hold to forty days, because of the sunnah that has been established in that regard. If it exceeds forty days, she is considered pure."
• I asked Ishaq - once more -, I said: If the blood does not cease for the woman in postpartum bleeding within the forty days, what is her state? He said: "If the forty days have passed, she should perform ghusl, pray, and perform wudu for every prayer. When the time of her menstrual cycle arrives, she should refrain from prayer." He also said: "[She should do this] once a month, according to the hadith of Hamna."
• I heard Ishaq - once more - saying: "The sunnah for the woman in postpartum bleeding is not to exceed forty days, because of what we have found regarding her timing in the authentic tradition (athar). We have designated that as the end of her time, unless she sees purity before that, in which case she should perform ghusl and pray. No time for prayer should pass over her while she is pure, except that she performs ghusl and prays."
باب: وَقت النُّفَساء
• سألت أبا عبد الله أحمَد بن حَنبل، قلت: النُّفَساء كَم تَجلِس؟ قال: «أربَعين يَومًا». قلت: فإن طَهُرَت قَبل الأربَعين؟ قال: تَصوم وتُصَلِّي؟ قلت: يأتيها زَوجها؟ قال: «لا يُعجِبني إلى الأربَعين». قلت: فإن غَشِيَها قبل الأربَعين ولم تَطهُر بَعد؟ قال: «عَلَيه ما على مَن يَغشَى الحائض». قلت: فإن لم يَنقَطِع عن النُّفَساء الدم في الأربَعين؟ قال: «هي بِمَنزِلَة المستَحاضَة».
• وأملى علينا إسحاق بن إبراهيم، قال: «النُّفَساء؛ الوَقت لَها أربَعين يَومًا؛ سُنةٌ ماضِيَة، ولا يكون حُكمُه كَحُكم الحَيض؛ لأن الحَيض قد تَبَيَّن عند الناس أنه يَطول أيامًا، ويكون لِبَعض النِّساء أيامًا دون ذلك، فأما النُّفَساء؛ فأَكثَر العُلَماء على أربَعين يَومًا؛ لِمَا مَضَت السُّنَّة فيها كذلك، فإذا جاوَز الأربَعين كانَت طاهِرًا».
• وسألت إسحاق -مرةً أخرى-، قلت: إن لم يَنقَطِع عن النُّفَساء الدم في الأربَعين، كَيف حالها؟ قال: «إذا جاوَزَتها الأربَعون؛ تَغتَسِل وتُصَلِّي وتوضَّأُ لكُلِّ صلاة، فإذا جاء وَقت حَيضها؛ تَرَكَت الصَّلاة». وقال: «في الشَّهر مَرَّة؛ على حديث حمنة».
• وسمعت إسحاق -مرةً أخرى- يقول: «السُّنَّة في النُّفَساء ألَّا تُجاوِزَ الأربَعين؛ لِمَا أصَبنا لَها من الوَقت بالأَثَر الصَّحيح، فجَعَلنا ذلك آخِر وَقتها، إلا أن تَرَى الطُّهر ⦗٣٣٠⦘ قَبل ذلك؛ فإنها تَغتَسِل وتُصَلِّي، ولا يأتِيَنَّ عَلَيها وَقتُ صلاةٍ وهي طاهِر؛ إلا اغتَسَلَت وصَلَّت».
