Step 3 of 11
When Ghusl Is Due: The End of Menstruation and Postnatal Bleeding
When a woman's monthly period (hayd) ends, she must make ghusl before she prays. The Prophet ﷺ told Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh: "When the period comes, leave the prayer, and when it has gone, wash and pray."
The same applies when the bleeding after childbirth (nifas) ends. Scholars treat it like menstruation in what it prevents and in requiring ghusl once it stops.
Allah says about menstruating women: ﴿وَلَا تَقْرَبُوهُنَّ حَتَّىٰ يَطْهُرْنَ فَإِذَا تَطَهَّرْنَ فَأْتُوهُنَّ﴾ (“Do not approach them until they are pure; and when they have purified themselves, then come to them.”) The schools differ slightly on whether intercourse is allowed after the bleeding stops but before the ghusl.
The four schools differ on some details. Show them
Each school's ruling, with the schools that share it named together.
Is intercourse permitted once the bleeding has stopped but before the woman has made ghusl?
3 of 4 schools agree. Differing: Hanafi.
Show each school
- Permitted in some casesHanafi
- Not permitted until ghuslMaliki · Shafi'i · Hanbali
- Hanafi
- If the bleeding stops at the maximum length of ten days, intercourse is permitted before ghusl; if it stops earlier, not until she bathes or the time of a full prayer has passed over her.
- Maliki
- Intercourse stays forbidden until she bathes, since the verse says ﴿فَإِذَا تَطَهَّرْنَ﴾ (“when they have purified themselves”), which means washing.
- Shafi'i
- Intercourse stays forbidden until she bathes, following the wording of the verse.
- Hanbali
- Intercourse stays forbidden until she bathes, following the wording of the verse.
- Qur'an 2:222
- Sahih al-Bukhari 320 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 228 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
The positions of the four schools are summarised from their standard references and are pending review by a qualified scholar. Follow the school you were taught, and for your own situation, ask a scholar.
Create a free account to keep your place as you go. Create a free account · Sign in