Menstruation in a Young Girl and a Postmenopausal Woman

Question:
Finally, Your Eminence the Shaykh, the author of *Sahib al-Zad* said: “There is no menstruation before nine [years of age], and none after fifty.” What is the ruling if a young girl menstruates, and likewise if a postmenopausal woman does?

Answer:
There is scholarly disagreement among the scholars on this. The majority hold that there is no menstruation before nine [years of age], and none after fifty. However, the correct view is that if she sees menstruation after fifty, according to her continuous custom, it is valid, and there is no harm. Except if it becomes irregular for her, then the blood is irregular non-menstrual bleeding. But if she sees it continuously after fifty, in the same state as before fifty, it is menstruation. This is the correct view, as stated by Abu al-Abbas Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), the Shaykh al-Islam and the community. Yes.