252. Is There A Minimum Number Of Days Before A Woman Can Get Her Menses?

By Asma Bint Shameem

Is there a minimum number of days before a woman can get her menses?

There’s no set or fixed time limit in the Sharee’ah for a woman’s ‘clean’ time in between her periods. 

A woman’s period can come a few days after her menses had ended, or it can come after a few months. 

There’s no proof of a specific number of ‘clean days’ in between her period. 

So there is no maximum or minimum days in between two periods. 

Ibn Taymiyyah said regarding this issue:

“Some of the scholars defined a maximum and minimum, but they differed concerning that, and some stated a maximum length without defining a minimum. The third view is most correct, which states that there is no minimum or maximum.”

(Majmoo’ al-Fataawaa, 19/237)

As Shaikh Salih al-Munajjid said:

“If a woman believes that her period has ended, then she starts bleeding again, if the blood has the characteristics of menstrual blood as described above, then this is menstrual bleeding, otherwise it is istihaadah.”

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen was asked about a woman whose period came, then she became pure and did ghusl, then after she had prayed for nine days, she started to bleed again, so she did not pray for three days, then she became pure and prayed for eleven days, then her period came again as usual. 

Should she repeat the prayers she offered during those three days or should they be regarded as part of her period? 

He replied: 

“When the period comes, it is hayd (menstruation) regardless of whether a long time or a short one has passed between it and the previous period. If a woman has her period then becomes pure, then after five days, or six, or ten, her period comes again, she should stop praying because this is hayd. This applies all the time. 

Every time she becomes pure then her period comes again, she has to stop praying etc. But if she bleeds continually and it only stops for a short while, then she is mustahaadah (one who suffers from istihaadah or non-menstrual vaginal bleeding), and in that case she should only stop praying for the duration of her normal menses.”

(Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 11 Shawwaal 230)

So you should determine the “kind” of bleeding. If you feel that this is menstrual blood because it looks like it and it’s accompanied by cramps, backache etc, then you  should stop praying and fasting and consider yourself ‘impure’. 

But if you feel that the second bleeding  is DIFFERENT in characteristics from your normal menses then you should consider it as Istihaadhah or irregular bleeding. 

And Allaah knows best