Rulings of Nifas Postpartum Bleeding
Ummul Momineen Hazrat Umme Salma Raziyallahu Anha narrated that during the time of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihivasallam, a woman would remain sitting for forty days after childbirth, meaning she would not pray nor fast, and we used to apply dars on our faces to remove freckles.
Tirmizi 1/27, Abu Dawood 1/43
*Explanation:* After childbirth, bleeding occurs. This blood is called nifas. During nifas, just like a menstruating woman, prayer is not obligatory. It is not permissible to recite or touch the Noble Quran or enter a mosque. However, touching the Quran with a cover is permissible.
*Ruling:* It is not permissible for a woman in nifas to keep any fast, whether nafl or obligatory. If this situation occurs in Ramadan, she should leave the fasts and make up for them later during her days of purity.
Like a menstruating woman, a woman in nifas can also recite other things besides the Noble Quran. For example, Durood Sharif, Istighfar, Kalimas, etc. And if she wants to recite a Quranic verse as a dua, she can do that too.
*Duration of Nifas*
In hadith, the maximum duration of nifas is stated as 40 days. The explanation is that the bleeding that continues after childbirth, whenever it stops within 40 days, even if it stops after one day, she should perform ghusl and start prayer. And if the bleeding does not stop even after completing 40 days, nifas has still ended. Now she should perform ghusl and pray with wudu because the rulings of a pure woman have begun for her.
After the bleeding stops, women often unnecessarily refrain from prayer for 40 days. This is wrong and against Shariah.
It is important to remember here that if a woman has given birth for the first time and bleeding continued for 40 days, then after completing 40 days she should perform ghusl and start prayer. And if a woman has had children before and it is known how many days bleeding occurred in the previous childbirth, then within 40 days all will be considered nifas blood. But if it exceeds 40 days, then after the days of the first instance, whatever extra days there are will be counted as purity and that extra blood will be called istihaza.
For example, a woman used to have 30 days of nifas. Now one time it came for 35 days, then this is nifas. But if it came for 45 days, then after 30 days the 15 days will not be counted in nifas, rather the rulings of purity will apply to the woman in those days. And for the prayers missed after 30 days thinking it was nifas, qaza will be obligatory. Understand this well.
*Issues of Nifas*
If a woman has no bleeding at all after childbirth, she should perform ghusl right after birth and start prayer. If there is danger to life from ghusl or strong fear of severe illness, then do tayammum instead of ghusl and do wudu or tayammum for prayer. Then when the fear of death or severe illness goes away, because of which tayammum was done instead of ghusl, perform ghusl. If she does not have strength to pray standing or sitting, then pray lying down.
It is not necessary that nifas blood flows continuously. Rather, whatever blood comes within the period of nifas will be nifas, even if it does not come for 2-4 hours or a day or two in between.
If someone’s incomplete child is lost, then it will be seen whether any one organ like finger, nail, etc. had formed. Then the blood that flows will have the rulings of nifas applied to it. And if no organ had formed, then the blood that comes will not fall under the ruling of nifas. However, in some cases it can be called istihaza and in some cases haiz. One should ask a scholar about the ruling when needed.
If two children are born from one pregnancy and there is an interval of an hour or two or more between both births, provided it is less than 6 months, then the blood that flows after the first birth will be considered nifas.
The blood that comes during pregnancy is not haiz or nifas but istihaza. And the blood or water etc. that flows before birth is also not haiz or nifas but istihaza. The blood that flows after most of the child has come out will be nifas.
It is haram to perform tawaf of the Kaaba Sharif during haiz and nifas. Many women go for Hajj and due to not knowing the ruling they make this mistake. And due to ignorance they also do not make the Shariah-prescribed compensation for it. If someone has done this, they should find out from scholars and make amends.
Giving ghusl to a woman on the sixth day after birth is considered necessary by some. There is no basis for this in Shariah at all.
It is also mentioned at the end of the hadith that due to not getting a chance to bathe and wash during nifas, the freckles that appear on the face and the effect of dullness that comes, we used to rub dars on our faces to correct it. This was a type of grass which, when rubbed, would fix the skin. As in many areas orange peels are used for this purpose and now many powders and creams have taken its place. It is known that keeping the face clean and making it look good is also a good thing, but it should not be in the manner and style of disbelievers and sinners.
*Ruling on Children’s Urine*
Hazrat Lubaba Raziyallahu Anha narrates that when Hazrat Husain Raziyallahu Anhu was born, I submitted, O Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihivasallam, give this child to me so that I may raise him and feed him my milk.
He Sallallahu Alaihivasallam accepted my request and gave the child to me. I would sometimes bring him to your service. One day I brought him to you and you placed him on your chest, meaning you laid him down or made him sit. Hazrat Husain Raziyallahu Anhu urinated, which got on your blessed lower garment.
I submitted, O Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihivasallam, grant me your lower garment so I may wash it. You Sallallahu Alaihivasallam said water is poured over a boy’s urine and a girl’s urine is washed.
In another narration it is like this: The cloth is washed because of a girl’s urine and water is sprinkled because of a boy’s urine.
Sharah Ma'ani Al Aasaarul Tahavi 1/47
*Explanation:* Just as the urine of adults is impure, the urine of a boy and girl child is also impure. You Sallallahu Alaihivasallam said water is poured over a boy’s urine, meaning there is no need to rub and wash thoroughly. And a girl’s urine is washed. In the other narration, instead of pouring, the word sprinkling is used. Meaning sprinkling does not mean just flicking drops, rather washing by rubbing well has been expressed with the word sprinkling.
A girl’s urine is thicker and has more odor, therefore it was commanded to wash it well. And a boy’s urine does not have this quality, therefore pouring water is sufficient.
If the period of milk feeding has ended, then this ruling will not apply. Rather in that case a boy’s urine will also be washed thoroughly.
*Washing Semen from Clothes*
Hazrat Suleman bin Yasaar Reh Tabi'i narrates that I asked Hazrat Ayesha Raziyallahu Anha, if semen gets on clothes, what should be done to purify it?
Hazrat Ayesha Raziyallahu Anha replied that I would wash semen off Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihivasallam’s garment. Then he Sallallahu Alaihivasallam would go for prayer wearing that garment in such a state that marks of washing were visible.
Mishkaat 1/52, Bukhari and Muslim
*Wudu Becomes Obligatory from Mazi and Ghusl Becomes Obligatory from Mani*
Mazi coming out breaks wudu, and mani coming out while awake or asleep makes ghusl obligatory. However, if men have the illness of jiryaan in which drops of mani come without desire, or if women have white discharge due to illness like leukorrhea, ghusl does not become obligatory because of it, but wudu does break.
If both mani and mazi are washed in such a way that they are removed from the body or clothes, then the body and clothes become pure. However, if mani is very thick and dries on the cloth like a sugar candy and no urine or other impurity has mixed with it, then in such a case the cloth also becomes pure by rubbing it well, provided that the mani is completely removed by rubbing. This method is for dried mani.
But in our times, since food is bad and adulterated, such thick mani is generally not seen nowadays. Therefore in this case, whether mani is wet or dry, purify it by washing only.
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