Can a Menstruating Woman Give a Ritual Bath to a Deceased Person

Islamic Ruling on Menstruating Women Performing Ghusl for the Deceased

Question: Can a woman in the state of menstruation give a ritual bath (Ghusl) to a deceased person? If there is any evidence, please provide it.

Answer: A menstruating woman is prohibited from performing prayers and fasting, but she can engage in all other acts of worship such as recitation of the Quran, supplication, remembrance of Allah, glorification, and sanctification. Similarly, she can perform all worldly tasks. Just as a woman in menstruation washes clothes, bathes children, cooks food, and cleans the house, she can also give a ritual bath to a deceased person. There is no harm in this.

Once, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) asked Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) for a mat while she was in her menstrual period. She mentioned her condition, and he replied that menstruation is not in her hands, meaning a woman can perform tasks with her hands during menstruation (Muslim: 298).

In another hadith, it is mentioned that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) would extend his head out of the mosque while in I’tikaf, and Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) would wash his head while she was in her menstrual period (Muslim: 371).

This evidence indicates that a menstruating woman can give a ritual bath to a deceased person.

 Sheikh Maqbool Ahmed Salafi Hafidhahullah

Jeddah Da’wah Center.