The Shaykh’s explanation of what is permissible for a woman to do while menstruating (such as reciting the Qur’an and the like…)

A girl who has reached maturity and is of sound mind says to the teacher, “It is my luck and my portion that I have heard this, O girl.” Of course, does she understand what her situation is? Her situation is that she is menstruating. What does that mean? It means it is forbidden for her to recite the Qur’an. People, as for the one in a state of major ritual impurity (janabah), we can tell him to purify himself, and we can tell him that if he remains in a state of janabah, he is like a corpse in the sight of Allah; the angels do not approach him. Why? Because he is able to purify himself. But what do we do with the menstruating woman? Even if the menstruating woman purified herself with all the waters of the seas, she would not be purified. She remains menstruating, and the rulings of menstruation apply to her. She does not pray, she does not fast, her husband does not have intercourse with her, and nothing else, even if she bathed, meaning she took a shower as they say in some countries, it would benefit her in no way whatsoever. So what do we do with her? We forbid her from reciting the Qur’an for five days, seven days, or ten days. This is because there is a statement made by some people, no doubt, but this statement needs support; it needs evidence from the Book of Allah and from the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and this does not exist at all. Rather, you just learned that the Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said about her husband, and she is the one who knew him best, “He used to remember Allah in all his states.” To remember Allah in the legal language is different from your language, O Shaykh, when you mentioned earlier ; because you mean other than the Qur’an. But in the legal language, the first thing included is the Noble Qur’an, because Allah says: meaning the Noble Qur’an. So when the Lady Aisha speaks in the language of her Prophet and her husband, “they remember Allah” means all remembrance without specification, as we mentioned earlier, and this is very reasonable. Now I will tell you something about etiquette in Islam: a Muslim does not sleep in a state of janabah. Do you see? He does not sleep in a state of janabah. He bathes. And here there are three levels. The best is to bathe. And if the world is cold, or he is lazy, or I don’t know what, he performs the ablution (wudu’) while in a state of janabah. Performing wudu’ is the second level. And the third and final level: he performs dry ablution (tayammum). The important thing is that something is done to lift, or lighten, what? His state of janabah. This is a legal ruling, do you see? The bath, then the wudu’, then the tayammum. But is it forbidden to sleep in a state of janabah? We say: No. Why? Because the Messenger (peace be upon him) sometimes slept and did not bathe until the morning, even in Ramadan he would bathe shortly before the morning. So here comes the explanation related to our previous discussion. Well, when the Messenger was in a state of janabah and slept in that state, did he not want to recite the Qur’an? The Messenger (peace be upon him) did not sleep except after reciting Surat al-Mulk (Blessed is He). And we are encouraged to recite the Verse of the Throne (Ayat al-Kursi). And he said, “Whoever recites two verses from the end of Surat al-Baqarah, they will suffice him.” And many, many things from reciting the protective chapters (al-Mu’awwidhat): Say, He is Allah, the One; Say, I seek refuge with the Lord of Daybreak; Say, I seek refuge with the Lord of Mankind. So if a person is in a state of janabah, who forbids him from reciting these nightly routines, which are a routine every night, when lying down? We say, no, people, do not be severe, lest Allah be severe with you. Allah was severe with the Christians because they innovated . The point is, if we take Islam as a whole, we will see that it is not possible for a Muslim to apply the ruling that it is forbidden for the one in a state of janabah, or forbidden for the menstruating woman, to recite the Qur’an. No, as for the one in a state of janabah, we mentioned that the best is to be in a state of complete purity. Even if he does not want to recite anything, what do you think? Even if he does not want to recite anything, the best is to be in a state of complete purity. So if he wants to recite, that is even more so. But let us return to the menstruating woman. What do we do with the menstruating woman? Do we forbid her not only to contemplate the Qur’an and read it during the day, but also during her free time, to light up a little of the darkness of her heart, at least when she wants to sleep? We tell her, “Do not recite the Verse of the Throne,” and you know that the Verse of the Throne, whoever recites it that night, is protected from Satan. And among the wonders of what happened in the early days of prophethood and the message, this was the advice of Satan, about whom the Messenger said: Do you know this hadith?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : So this woman who wants to put her head down and sleep, is she deaf and dumb? She does not recite anything from the verses of Allah, in which she seeks protection? No, my brother, she recites. And she is also allowed to enter the mosque and listen to the sermon and the lesson. This is also connected to this. But also, a woman can be in a state of janabah like a man. She can be pure but in a state of janabah. She is told what is told to the man: “Purify yourself, it is better for you, more honorable for you, more pious for you,” and so on. But when she is in a state of menstruation, we cannot tell her to purify herself, because Allah the Exalted did not command her to purify herself. And you know that it is forbidden for her to pray, and it is forbidden for her to do what? Fast. Where did we take the prohibition of prayer and fasting from? From ourselves? No, from our Shari’ah, the Book of Allah and the Sunnah. Well, people, prayer and fasting are forbidden for her, the menstruating woman. Well, where did we get that it is forbidden for her to enter the mosque, and it is forbidden for her to recite the Qur’an? Where is the text that forbids her this thing, just as prayer and fasting were forbidden to her? Then look at the difference: she was commanded to make up the fasting, but she was not commanded to make up the prayer. So the matter is not in our minds, or our desires, but it is complete following. And in this connection, to strengthen the matter related to the menstruating woman, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the Farewell Pilgrimage, his nine wives were with him. His nine wives were with him for a wisdom that Allah willed. It was decreed that the Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) menstruated before entering Mecca at a stage, and they were descending in a place called Saraf. She was in a state of ihram for 'Umrah because she had intended to combine 'Umrah with Hajj (tamattu’), and all the wives of the Messenger were like this. The Messenger (peace be upon him) entered upon her and found her crying. He said: She said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said: Here is the point, so pay attention, This mosque is large. The middle of it is this blessed piece, which is the Ka'bah. He did not tell her, “Do not enter the mosque.” He told her, “Do not perform tawaf and do not pray.” So it means that he allowed her to recite the Qur’an; because what does the pilgrim do? He recites the Qur’an, sends blessings upon the Messenger, and remembers [Allah], and so on. Well, and what does the pilgrim do a little? He performs tawaf around the Ka'bah. You do not perform tawaf around the Ka'bah. If he allowed her to enter the mosque, now problems arise due to severity in religion. He brings his wife against her religion. He means her religion, what is it? This is what he understands: that it is forbidden for a menstruating woman to enter what? The mosque. He brings her in, what does he tell you? If he leaves her outside the mosque, she will be lost to me and I will be lost to her. And this is possible. But be easy on yourself. This Messenger told Aisha, “Enter the mosque, but do not perform tawaf. But tawaf is forbidden for you.”