Understanding the Ruling on Clothes Worn During Menstruation in Islam
In our society, there are many misconceptions regarding menstruating women. In some places, menstruating women and their clothes are considered so impure that they cannot be touched, and their belongings such as scarves, jewelry, and bedding cannot be used. They are not even allowed to cook. All these notions are incorrect.
It should be known that a menstruating woman is ritually impure, but her body is physically pure, and the clothes on her body that are dry are also pure. Let’s try to understand this issue in the light of a hadith. It is narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said:
“أَمَرَنِي رَسولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلَّمَ أنْ أُناوِلَهُ الخُمْرَةَ مِنَ المَسْجِدِ، فَقُلتُ: إنِّي حائِضٌ، فقالَ: تَناوَلِيها؛ فإنَّ الحَيْضَةَ ليسَتْ في يَدِكِ.” (Muslim: 298)
Translation: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) ordered me to hand him the prayer mat from the mosque. I said, “I am menstruating.” He said, “Your menstruation is not in your hand.”
From this hadith, we learn that the body of a menstruating woman is pure, and we can take items from her hand and eat the food she cooks.
Now that you understand that a menstruating woman is physically pure, let’s discuss the clothes she uses.
In our society, there are many misconceptions regarding the clothes worn by menstruating women. Some believe that their clothes become impure, and even if the clothes touch their body or get sweat on them, they become impure and cannot be used for prayer.
It is also believed that menstrual clothes should be separate and discarded after use. These beliefs are incorrect. Let’s understand the correct ruling in the light of the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Asma bint Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated:
“جَاءَتِ امْرَأَةٌ النبيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عليه وسلَّمَ فَقالَتْ: أرَأَيْتَ إحْدَانَا تَحِيضُ في الثَّوْبِ، كيفَ تَصْنَعُ؟ قالَ: تَحُتُّهُ، ثُمَّ تَقْرُصُهُ بالمَاءِ، وتَنْضَحُهُ، وتُصَلِّي فِيهِ.” (Sahih al-Bukhari: 227)
Translation: A woman came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, “What should one of us do if the menstrual blood gets on her clothes?” He said, “She should scrape it off, rub it with water, wash it, and then pray in it.”
I present another narration from Sahih Bukhari, narrated by Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her):
“كَانَتْ إحْدَانَا تَحِيضُ، ثُمَّ تَقْتَرِصُ الدَّمَ مِن ثَوْبِهَا عِنْدَ طُهْرِهَا، فَتَغْسِلُهُ وتَنْضَحُ علَى سَائِرِهِ، ثُمَّ تُصَلِّي فِيهِ.” (Sahih al-Bukhari: 308)
Translation: When we menstruated, we would scrape the blood off our clothes at the time of purification, wash it, and pour water over the rest of the garment, and then we would pray in it.
From these two hadiths, it is clear that if a menstruating woman uses a garment during her period and it gets menstrual blood on it, she should scrape off the blood, wash it with water, and then she can pray in that garment. If the garment is dry and has no menstrual blood on it, it is already pure and does not need washing, such as a shirt or scarf, which usually do not get blood on them. If, unfortunately, blood gets on the shirt, it should also be washed, and after washing, the garment is completely pure, and there is no harm in praying in it.
It is possible that after washing, the impurity is removed, but blood stains remain on the garment. Even with these stains, there is no harm in praying because the garment is pure, even if the stains are visible.
To keep clothes free from blood and stains during menstruation, women can use pads or cloths. If a menstruating woman uses a pad and no blood gets on her clothes, she can perform her prayers in the same clothes after taking a ritual bath (ghusl) because the clothes remain pure.
During the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), women used to use a cloth or cotton (kursuf) to cover their private parts during menstruation. It is narrated from Marjanah, the mother of Alqamah and a freed slave of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), that she said:
“كَانَ النِّسَاءُ يَبْعَثْنَ إِلَى عَائِشَةَ أُمِّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِالدِّرَجَةِ فِيهَا الْكُرْسُفُ فِيهِ الصُّفْرَةُ مِنْ دَمِ الْحَيْضَةِ يَسْأَلْنَهَا عَنِ الصَّلَاةِ، فَتَقُولُ لَهُنَّ: ‘لَا تَعْجَلْنَ حَتَّى تَرَيْنَ الْقَصَّةَ الْبَيْضَاءَ’. تُرِيدُ بِذَلِكَ الطُّهْرَ مِنَ الْحَيْضَةِ.” (Muwatta Imam Malik: 127)
Translation: Women used to send small boxes containing cotton with traces of yellow menstrual blood to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) to ask about prayer. She would say, “Do not rush until you see the white discharge,” meaning the end of menstruation.
Shaykh Al-Albani has graded its chain of narration as Hasan (good). (Tamam al-Minnah: 136)
Therefore, it is better for women to use pads during menstruation to prevent blood stains on clothes, bedding, and the floor, especially for those who experience heavy bleeding.
A weak hadith mentions that menstrual cloths should be buried. It is narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her):
“كان يأمرُ بدفنِ سبعةِ أشياءَ من الإنسانِ : الشَّعْرُ، والظُّفْرُ، والدَّمُ، والحَيْضَةُ، والسِّنُّ، والمَشِيمَةُ، والقُلْفَةُ.”
Translation: The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to order the burial of seven things from humans: hair, nails, blood, menstrual cloth, teeth, the placenta, and the foreskin.
Shaykh Al-Albani has declared this hadith as “Munkar” (rejected), and a Munkar hadith is considered weak. Refer to Al-Silsilah Al-Da’eefah: Munkar, 3263. This hadith has led to the misconception that clothes worn during menstruation should be discarded. However, the correct understanding is that it is the kursuf (the cloth or cotton placed on the private part) that should be buried, as mentioned earlier. Additionally, this hadith is not suitable for deriving rulings because it is weak.
Summary: The body of a menstruating woman is outwardly pure, and all items that are free from menstrual blood, such as shirts, scarves, jewelry, and bedding, are also pure. A menstruating woman is ritually impure, but only the part of the garment that has blood on it is impure, while the rest of the garment remains pure. After purification from menstruation, if the clothes used during menstruation are washed and cleaned of blood stains, there is no harm in praying in them. It is incorrect to consider the house, bedding, and belongings of a menstruating woman as impure and to wash everything. Menstruation does not make the house, bedding, belongings, or utensils impure.
This is why Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, has forbidden men from having intercourse during menstruation. However, it is permissible to sit, eat, and sleep with the wife, and even to kiss and benefit from her body except for intercourse.
Written by: Maqbool Ahmed Salafi
Jeddah Dawah Center, Hayy al-Salamah – Saudi Arabia