I reside in Buraydah and went to perform 'Umrah, but before entering the Haram, my wife started menstruating, so I exerted myself and told her: Use a tampon properly, perform tawaf, and complete the 'Umrah.

The questioner : He says: I reside in Buraydah and went to perform 'Umrah, but before entering the Haram, my wife started menstruating, so I exerted myself and told her: Use a tampon properly, perform tawaf, and complete the 'Umrah, since we are unable to stay and wait or return again. What is your opinion, O honorable one?

The Shaykh : My opinion is that this is a fatwa from an ignorant person, and it is not permissible for a person to issue a fatwa except with knowledge. When it was said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) that Safiyyah, his wife, had started menstruating, he said: Will she hold up the people, the Messenger, and the Companions until she becomes pure? Meaning: The farewell tawaf is not obligatory for a menstruating woman. So this fatwa that he issued is a mistake and an error. It is obligatory for her now to avoid all the prohibitions of ihram, including intercourse with her husband, because she is still in her state of ihram. Let her go to Makkah and complete the 'Umrah. She should not take a bath at the miqat and enter ihram, no, because she is already in ihram. She is in ihram now. She goes to Makkah, performs tawaf, sa'y, and shortens her hair. As for the issue of using a tampon, you must know, my brothers, that only a few scholars have spoken about it, and they did not speak about it in a situation like ours now. They said it is permissible if a woman arrives on a camel from a distant land, from Sham, Iraq, Egypt, or beyond, and is unable to keep the people with her, and is unable to return. Some scholars say: She remains in her ihram until the Day of Resurrection, she does not marry, her husband does not come to her, and nothing else, because she did not complete it. She remains. And some scholars say: She is considered one who is prevented (muhassarah). And the meaning of being prevented is: that she slaughters a sacrificial animal, and she did not perform the obligation upon her, so she returns without performing the obligation. There are eight opinions of the scholars on this issue, and the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) adopted a good position. He said: If she is unable to return and unable to stay until she becomes pure, she may use a cloth to tampon herself and perform tawaf, and there is no blame on her. But the one in Buraydah, or in Unayzah, or on the outskirts of the Kingdom, is he unable to return? Yes. He is able to. He takes his family, and she is menstruating before she completes the rites, and when she becomes pure, he returns with her. So let our brother fear Allah, and let him know that rushing into issuing a fatwa without knowledge is not easy. Allah the Exalted said: , and He the Exalted said: So let him fear Allah, and let him hasten now before the crowds increase in Makkah, and let him take his wife to complete her 'Umrah. Yes. O Allah, guide us among those You have guided.