Recitation of the Quran during Menstruation
Fatwa ID: DI01444
Question
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah
If a woman intends to do a khitmah of the Quran in the month of ramadan, but menstruation could interfere with her ability to recite, is there any dispensation within the Hanafi school that would permit the woman to continue the khitmah? Or even in the other madhahib?
Answer
Waʿalaykum al-Salām wa Raḥmat Allah wa Barakātu-h.
In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
The aḥkām of Islām are sourced in the knowledge of waḥy. Waḥy is that type of knowledge that is supra-rational. In other words, Allah taʿālā reveals laws that are otherwise unattainable to the human intellect. This fact is all the more pronounced in regard to the acts of ritual worship: the purpose of worship is to attain the pleasure of Allah – this can only be done through the way that He wills and instructs.
Specifically for the case of ṭahārah: We see that menstruation prevents a woman from ṣalāh, ṣawm, and, according to the Ḥanafī school, recitation of the Qurʾān, among other acts. The aforementioned forms of ībādah are metaphysical acts: on the surface, there seems to be no relationship between a physical state and a metaphysical act (worship). This relationship itself shows that the rulings related to menstruation are not merely “scientific”, but, rather, relate to a much higher realm of knowledge. In sum, there is great wisdom in women not engaging the aforementioned acts of ʿibādah during this time.
Remember: the purpose of worship is to attain the pleasure of Allah and this can only be done through the way that He wills and instructs. Thus, the pleasure of Allah in this case will be attained by not reciting during menstruation.
See the following reports.
1. Bukhārī transmits a report from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: “…There is no Muslim that is afflicted by some harm – a thorn or anything more – except that Allah expiates through it his sins just as a tree sheds its leaves.”
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدَانُ، عَنْ أَبِي حَمْزَةَ، عَنْ الْأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ التَّيْمِيِّ، عَنْ الْحَارِثِ بْنِ سُوَيْدٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ دَخَلْتُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَهُوَ يُوعَكُ، فَقُلْتُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، إِنَّكَ لَتُوعَكُ وَعْكًا شَدِيدًا؟ قَالَ: (أَجَلْ، إِنِّي أُوعَكُ كَمَا يُوعَكُ رَجُلَانِ مِنْكُمْ). قُلْتُ: ذَلِكَ بأن لَكَ أَجْرَيْنِ؟ قَالَ: (أَجَلْ، ذَلِكَ كَذَلِكَ، مَا مِنْ مُسْلِمٍ يُصِيبُهُ أَذًى، شَوْكَةٌ فَمَا فَوْقَهَا، إِلَّا كَفَّرَ اللَّهُ بِهَا سيآته، كَمَا تَحُطُّ الشَّجَرَةُ وَرَقَهَا).
2. Bukhārī also transmits a report from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: “Actions are by their intentions”.
حَدَّثَنَا الْحُمَيْدِيُّ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الزُّبَيْرِ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الْأَنْصَارِيُّ قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ التَّيْمِيُّ: أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ عَلْقَمَةَ بْنَ وَقَّاصٍ اللَّيْثِيَّ يَقُولُ: سَمِعْتُ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ (إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى، فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى دُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا، أَوْ إِلَى امْرَأَةٍ يَنْكِحُهَا، فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِ)
3. Bukhārī also transmits from ʿĀʾishah: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered upon me at Sarif while I was crying. Then, he ﷺ said: ‘What [happened] to you? [Did your monthly cycle begin]?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘This is a matter that Allah has decreed for the daughters of Ādam. Perform all that the pilgrim is to perform except that you are not to perform ṭawāf around the House.’”
حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ: حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ الْقَاسِمِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ قَالَتْ دَخَلَ عَلَيَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ بِسَرِفَ وَأَنَا أَبْكِي، فَقَالَ: (مَا لَكِ أَنَفِسْتِ). قُلْتُ: نَعَمْ، قَالَ: (هَذَا أَمْرٌ كَتَبَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى بَنَاتِ آدَمَ، اقْضِي مَا يَقْضِي الْحَاجُّ غَيْرَ أَنْ لَا تَطُوفِي بِالْبَيْتِ). وَضَحَّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ عَنْ نِسَائِهِ بِالْبَقَرِ
The woman must not hold herself responsible for what is not in her control. She will be rewarded both for her intention and the difficulty she experiences, both physically and emotionally.
Allah knows best.
