Ruling on the Recitation of the Noble Qur'an by a Woman in Menstruation

Q: Is it permissible for a woman to recite the Noble Qur'an during her days of excuse? And is it permissible for her to recite the Noble Qur'an when she goes to sleep and recites the Verse of the Throne without touching the mushaf? We ask the Shaykh to please elaborate on this topic so that we may be well-informed about it.

Answer: Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah. As for what follows: I have previously spoken on this topic more than once and clarified that there is no harm or blame in a woman reciting what she can from the Qur'an from memory while she is menstruating or in post-natal bleeding; because the scriptural evidence indicates this. The scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, differed on this:
Some of the scholars of knowledge said: She does not recite, just as the one in a state of major ritual impurity does not. They argued with a weak hadith narrated by Abu Dawud from Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said: This hadith is weak according to the scholars of knowledge, because it is from the narration of Isma'il ibn 'Iyadh from the people of the Hijaz, and his narration from them is weak.
Some of the scholars of knowledge analogized her to the one in a state of major ritual impurity, saying: Just as the one in a state of major ritual impurity does not recite, so she does not. Because she has a major state of ritual impurity that necessitates the full ritual bath, so she is like the one in a state of major ritual impurity.
The answer to this is: This analogy is not correct, because the state of the menstruating woman and the woman in post-natal bleeding is not the state of the one in a state of major ritual impurity. The duration of menstruation and post-natal bleeding is long, and it may be difficult for them, and they may forget much of their memorization of the Noble Qur'an. As for the one in a state of major ritual impurity, his duration is short; whenever he finishes his need, he performs the full ritual bath and recites. So it is not permissible to analogize the menstruating woman and the woman in post-natal bleeding to him. The correct of the scholars' statements is: There is no blame on the menstruating woman and the woman in post-natal bleeding to recite what they memorize of the Qur'an. There is no blame on the menstruating woman and the woman in post-natal bleeding to recite the Verse of the Throne at sleep. There is no blame on reciting what is easy of the Qur'an from memory at all times. This is the correct view, and this is the principle. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered 'A'ishah when she menstruated during the Farewell Pilgrimage, saying to her: And he did not forbid her from reciting the Qur'an.
And it is known that the one in the state of consecration for pilgrimage recites the Qur'an. This indicates that there is no blame on her in reciting it; because he (peace and blessings be upon him) only forbade her from circumambulation; because circumambulation is like prayer, and she does not pray. And he was silent about recitation, so that indicates that she is not forbidden from recitation. If recitation had been forbidden, he would have clarified it to 'A'ishah and to other women in the Farewell Pilgrimage and in other than the Farewell Pilgrimage. And it is known that every house, in the majority of cases, does not lack a menstruating woman or a woman in post-natal bleeding. So if she did not recite the Qur'an, he (peace and blessings be upon him) would have clarified it to the people with a general and clear clarification so that it would not be hidden from anyone.
As for the one in a state of major ritual impurity, he does not recite the Qur'an by explicit text, and his duration is short; whenever he finishes, he purifies himself and recites. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to remember Allah in all his states, except when he was in a state of major ritual impurity, in which he was held back from the Qur'an until he performed the full ritual bath, may Allah send blessings and peace upon him. As 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Prophet, may Allah send blessings and peace upon him, was not held back from the Qur'an by anything except the state of major ritual impurity.
And it is established from him, may Allah send blessings and peace upon him, that he recited after he came out from the place of relieving himself. He recited and said: This is for the one who is not in a state of major ritual impurity. As for the one in a state of major ritual impurity, no, not even a verse. This indicates that the one in a state of major ritual impurity does not recite until he performs the full ritual bath.