Menstruation and Intimacy: Understanding the Hadiths of Maymūnah and Umm Salamah

The 2nd Lesson from the Book of Menstruation from Sahih Muslim: Lying Down with a Menstruating Woman in One Piece of Cloth

2nd Lesson From the Book of Menstruation From Sahīh Muslim

بســـم اللــه الرحــمــن الـرحـــيــم

By Shaykh, the ‘Allāmah, the Trustworthy Advisor, Abū ‘Abdirrahmān Yahya bin ‘Alī Al-Hajūri – may Allāh preserve him – 

[Chapter: Lying down with a menstruating woman in one piece of cloth]

(295) Abu Tāhir narrated to me, he said Ibn Wahb informed me, on the authority of Makhrumah, ح, and Hārūn bin Sa’d Al-Aylī and Ahmed bin Ēsā narrated to us, they said, Ibn Wahb informed us, he said Makhrumah informed me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Kurayb Mawlā Ibn Abbās, he said: “I heard Maymūnah the wife of the Prophet say: “The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ used to lay down with me while I was menstruating and between me and him a thawb (piece of cloth).”

(296) Muhammad bin Al-Muthannā narrated to us, he said Mu’ādh bin Hishām narrated to us, he said my father narrated to me, on the authority of Yahyā bin Abī Kathīr, he said Abu Salamah bin Abdirrahmān narrated to us, that Zainab bint Umm Salamah narrated to him that Umm Salamah narrated to her and said: 

“While I was lying down with the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ in a blanket all of sudden my menses came, so I slipped away and took my menstruation clothes, so the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said to me: “Did your menses come?,” I said: “Yes, then he called me so I laid down with him in the blanket.” She said: “And her and the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ used to bathe together from major impurity in one basin.”

Benefits 🔹🔹🔹

🔹 From what this Hadith points towards is that the wife (if one has multiple) still has the right to her day even if she is menstruating.

🔹 And from what this Hadith points towards is sleeping together with his family (wife) on one bed. 

🔹 And from what the Hadith points towards also is that the Prophet ﷺ had multiple wives in order to transmit the Sunnahs of the house.

🔹 Benefit: 

Maymūnah is the last of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ, he married her and entered upon her while he was Halāl and not in the state of Ihrām, and some narrations have come that he was a Muhrim but it is the less correct opinion. He entered upon her in Sarf and she died at Sarf, it is called Nūriyyah now. 

🔹 Benefit: If a woman makes clothes specific for menstruation there is no prevention. 

🔹 And in this Hadith also is the tight situation of the Prophet ﷺ with a piece of cloth for him and his wife. 

🔹 And in it is the good dealings of Umm Salamah may Allāh be pleased with her with her manners whereby she slipped away.

🔹 And in this is Dalālatul-Iqtirān whereby he knew that from her slipping away and those clothes, that she had changed to a different ruling, the ruling of menstruating.

🔹 And in it is the obligation of bathing from major impurity; they used to bathe in one basin from major impurity.

🔹 And in it is that little amount of water is sufficient with economizing.

🔹 We have passed by in this chapter two Hadiths, Hadith Maymūnah, Hadith Umm Salamah, all of these Hadiths concerning menstruation with the wives of the Prophet ﷺ.

Transcribed to Arabic and summarised by:

Abu Abdirrahmān Hamūd Ath-Thawābi 

may Allāh reward him with good

on the 18th, Jumāda Al-Ākhir, 1441H

Translated by: 

Abu ‘Abdillāh ‘Omar bin Yahya Al-‘Akawi

#Menstruation #Hadith #Explanation