Ruling On Women Who Get Their Menses Before Maghrib

By ISHAQ. K

Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Mukhtār al-Shanqīṭī was asked:

امرأة رأت شيئاً من دم الحيض بعد صلاة المغرب ولم تعلم هل كان ذلك قبل الغروب أم بعده، فما الحكم بالنسبة لصلاتها وصيامها؟

A woman saw some menstrual blood after the Maghrib prayer, and she did not know whether it appeared before sunset or after it. What is the ruling regarding her prayer and her fasting?

He answered by saying:

إذا رأت الدم وغلب على ظنها أنه سابق للغروب، فلا إشكال أن صوم ذلك اليوم لاغٍ ويلزمها قضاؤه، وأما إذا كانت قد غلب على ظنها أن الدم طري وأنه حادث بعد المغرب فلا إشكال في صحة صومها ولزوم صلاة المغرب إذا طهرت فإنها تقضيها وتصليها.

وأما إذا ترددت وشكت فالقاعدة عند العلماء رحمهم الله تقول: (ينسب لأقرب حادث)، فالأصل صحة الصوم حتى يدل الدليل على عدم صحته، والأصل أنها صامت يوماً كاملاً، وذمتها بريئة حتى نتحقق من وجود هذا المؤثر، فحينئذٍ يحكم بصحة صومها، وأما الدم فلا يؤثر في ذلك اليوم، وتبقى المسألة عكسية، لأنك إذا قلت: يصح صومها لزمها قضاء المغرب، وإن قلت: لا يصح صومها لم يكن هناك قضاء المغرب، فإن سلمت من الصوم لزمها قضاء المغرب؛ لأن دخول الوقت موجب لشغل الذمة بالنسبة للحائض، ولا يكون معتداً بآخر الوقت كما يقوله فقهاء الحنفية وبعض أصحاب الإمام أحمد.

وآخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين، وصلى الله وسلم وبارك على نبينا محمد، وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين.

If she saw the blood and it is more likely in her view that it appeared before sunset, then there is no doubt that the fast of that day is invalid and she must make it up.

However, if it is more likely in her view that the blood was fresh and that it occurred after Maghrib, then there is no doubt that her fast is valid.

If she becomes pure afterwards, the Maghrib prayer remains obligatory upon her, so she must make it up and perform it.

But if she is uncertain and doubtful, then the principle mentioned by the ulama, may Allah have mercy on them, applies. They say: “A matter is attributed to the nearest occurring event.” The basic ruling is that the fast remains valid unless there is evidence proving it invalid.

The basic assumption is that she completed a full day of fasting, and her liability is free until it is confirmed that this factor existed.

Therefore, her fast is judged to be valid. The blood in this situation does not affect that day. The issue then becomes the opposite case. If it is said that her fast is valid, then she must make up the Maghrib prayer. But if it is said that her fast is invalid, then there would be no making up of Maghrib.

So if the fast is considered valid, she must make up the Maghrib prayer. This is because the entrance of the prayer time places the obligation upon a menstruating woman’s liability.

It is not considered sufficient merely by the end of the time, as some of the Hanafi jurists and some companions of Imam Ahmad have said.

And the last of our supplications is that all praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the universe. May Allah send His peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and upon his family and his companions altogether.

Kitāb Sharḥ Zād al-Mustaqniʿ by al-Shanqīṭī 17/215

If Menstruation Begins After Sunset – Shaykh Ibn Bāz

Question: If a woman begins menstruating shortly after sunset, what is the ruling regarding her fast?

Shaykh Ibn Bāz’s Answer: Our response is that her fast is valid, even if she felt the signs of menstruation before sunset, such as pain or discomfort, but did not actually see the blood appear until after sunset. In this case her fast remains valid, because what invalidates the fast is the actual appearance of menstrual blood, not merely the feeling or sensation of it.

Question: Must a woman make up the fast if her menstrual cycle begins after the Maghrib prayer, or before performing the prayer after she has broken her fast?

Shaykh Ibn Bāz’s Answer: She does not have to make up the fast if she completed the fasting day and the menstruation began after sunset, even if it occurred before performing the prayer. There is nothing required of her. If it occurs after the prayer, then this ruling applies even more clearly.

May Allah send His peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and upon his family and his companions.

Majmūʿ Fatāwā Ibn Bāz 15/192

Author

ISHAQ. K

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