The Word of Allah—the Almighty and Majestic—is: {And they ask you about menstruation}.
I heard Ishaq say: Allah—the Exalted—said in His Book: {And they ask you about menstruation. Say: it is an impurity, so keep away from women during menstruation and do not approach them until they are pure}, meaning: from menstruation. {And when they have purified themselves}, meaning: with water, {then come to them from where Allah has ordained for you}. The people of knowledge among the Tabi'in and those before them have consistently held that the ruling for the menstruating woman when she becomes pure is to perform ghusl (ritual washing) with water, unless water is unavailable to her, in which case her ruling becomes tayammum (dry ablution). The statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Sahaba continued in this regard as well, thus the Ummah became in agreement on the purification of the menstruating woman and the woman in post-natal bleeding with water after the cessation of blood and the clear manifestation of purity.
They differed regarding the ruling of the woman experiencing istihadah (irregular vaginal bleeding); how does she purify herself? Does she perform ghusl or does she perform wudu? They were in agreement that her ruling is that of the pure woman regarding prayer and marital relations, except that the blood is a hadath (ritual impurity) from her. It is authentically narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said: "That is a vein, not menstruation." When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said that, and that it is not menstruation, it became clear from this statement that her purification by wudu is permissible, and its ruling is like the ruling of a nosebleed, wounds, and similar things.
So the woman experiencing istihadah is pure in her affairs; she prays, fasts, performs circumambulation (tawaf) around the House, enters it, and her husband may have relations with her; the people of knowledge were in agreement on this, except regarding the marital relations specifically. Some said: Her husband should not have relations with her, but we found no argument for the one who says this, because of what the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "It is a vein, and not menstruation." This was a concession, since he made the ruling of it other than the ruling of menstruation, as he said: "It is a vein, and not menstruation." Allah—the Almighty and Majestic—only said: {So keep away from women during menstruation}, so the ruling of the menstruating woman and the woman in post-natal bleeding is different from the ruling of the woman experiencing istihadah, even though the majority are in favor of having relations with her. Therefore, if she experiences istihadah, and the time for prayer comes, she should sit and clean herself so that the blood does not overwhelm her, and she should wear a bandage, perform wudu, and pray. If it overwhelms her to the point that it flows onto her garment, and she was capable of preventing that, she should do so; otherwise, there is no blame upon her, because the Prophet (peace be upon him) established that she should pray even if the blood drips onto the mat, and there is no washing required upon her for her garments, except what she was able to prevent; there is nothing upon her beyond that. Allah—the Exalted—said: {Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity}.
(1) Thus it is in the original, and perhaps the correct reading is "id". (2) In the original: "i'tazilu" (keep away), and the verse is as established. (3) Thus it is in the original, and perhaps the correct reading is "wa tathaffarat" (and she bound herself with a bandage).
قَولُ الله - عَزَّ وَجَلَّ-: {ويسألونك عن المحيض}
• وسمعت إسحاق يقول: «قال الله -تعالى- في كِتابه: {ويسألونك عن المحيض قل هو أذى فاعتزلوا النساء في المحيض ولا تقربوهن حتى يطهرن}، يعني: من المحيض، {فإذا تطهرن}، يعني: بالماء، {فأتوهن من حيث أمركم الله}، فمَضَى أهل العِلم مِن التابِعين ومَن قَبلَهم أن حُكم الحائض إذا طَهُرت: الاغتِسالُ بالماء، إلا أن يَعزُبَ عنها الماء، فيكون حُكمها: التَّيَمُّم، ومَضَى قول النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم والصَّحابَة في ذلك كذلك، فصارَت الأُمَّة مُجمِعَةً على تَطهير الحائض والنُّفَساء بالماء بعد انقِطاع الدم وتِبيان النَّقاء.
واختَلَفوا في حُكم المستَحاضَة؛ كَيف تَتَطَهَّر؛ أتَغتَسِل أم تتوضَّأ؟ وأجمَعوا أن حُكمَها حُكمُ الطاهِر في الصَّلاة، وغشيان الزَّوج، إلا أن الدم حَدَثٌ مِنها، وصَحَّ عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه قال: «ذلك عِرق، وليس بالحَيض»، فلمَّا قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ذلك، وأنه ليس بِحَيض؛ تَبَيَّن في هذا القَول أن طَهارتها بالوُضوء جائز، وحُكمه كَحُكم الرُّعاف والجُروح وما أشبَهَها.
فالمستَحاضَة طاهِرةٌ في أمورها؛ تُصَلِّي، وتَصوم، وتَطوف بِالبَيت، وتَدخُله، ⦗٣٦٣⦘ ويَغشاها زَوجها؛ أجمَعَ أهل العِلم على ذلك، إلا الغشيان خاصَّة؛ قال بعضهم: لا يَغشاها زَوجها، ولم نَجِد حُجَّةً لِقائلِ هذا؛ لِمَا قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: «إنه عِرق، وليس بِالحَيضَة»، فكان هذا رُخصَة؛ إذا (١) صَيَّر حُكمَ ذلك غَيرَ حُكم الحَيض؛ حيث قال: «إنه عِرق، وليس بِالحَيض»، وإنما قال الله -عز وجل-: {فاعتزلوا (٢) النساء في المحيض}، فحُكم الحائض والنُّفَساء غَير حُكم المستَحاضَة، مع أن الأكثَرين على غشيانها، فإذا استُحيضَت، فجاءها وَقت الصَّلاة؛ أجلَسَت، وتنَظَّفَت؛ لكيلا يَغلِبها الدم، وتَثَفَّر (٣) بِثَوب، وتوضأت، وصَلَّت، فإن غَلَبَها حتى يَسيل على الثَّوب، فقَدِرَت على دَفع ذلك، وإلا فلا شَيء عَلَيها؛ لِمَا سَنَّ النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أن تُصَلِّي وإن قَطر الدم على الحَصير قَطرًا، ولا غسلَ عَلَيها في ثيابها، إلا ما أمكَنَها مِن مَنعِه؛ لَيسَ عَلَيها غَير ذلك، قال الله -تعالى-: {لا يكلف الله نفسًا إلا وسعها}.
(١) كذا في الأصل، ولعل الصواب: "إذْ".(٢) في الأصل: "اعتزلوا"، والآية كما أثبت.(٣) كذا في الأصل، ولعل الصواب: "وتثَفَّرَت".
