Menstruation is not filthy

Salam,

Most Muslim women were being brainwashed that when they are having their menstruation, they were forbidden to do their daily obligatory prayer (Salat), fasting, reading the Quran, going to the mosques or any other thing that is related to the worship of God. These teaching does not come from the Quran but were of those borrowed from the Jewish traditions that have seeped through the authenticated hadith.

Quote from the Bible Leviticus 15:19-32

19And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. 20And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. 21And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. 22And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. 23And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even. 24And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean. 25And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean. 26Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation. 27And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. 28But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. 29And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 30And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the LORD for the issue of her uncleanness. 31Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them. 32This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith;

But in the Quran the only thing forbidden when the woman had her menstruation is not for her husband to “sleep” with her until she is clean of her period. There is no other restriction that have been imposed on any form of worship if she so wish to fulfill her obligation towards God.

…..They ask you on women’s menstruation, say, “They are a hurt” so keep away from women in their courses, and do not approach them until they are clean. And when they have cleansed themselves, you may approach them as God has directed you. Surely God loves those who repent and those who purify themselves (Surah 2:222).

There are several evidences from the Quran that the woman is not prohibited to establish her Salat or daily prayer or any other command of God which is obligatory. In term of the daily prayer many were saying that the women menstruation is “dirty” that they should not perform the prayer but please consider after the call of nature even if there is no water to wash the “dirty” defecation leftover still it is obligatory to perform the Salat without water with the “tayamum” or ritual of rubbing the faces and the hands with clean sands (Refer Surah 5:6). In this state of dirty condition the command is still to establish the Salat.

And in the following verse stated below in the Quran the woman is not exempted from doing her fasting during the month of Ramadhan as whether it is the man or the woman who accidently killed a believer if she has no mean to pay the compensation she has to fast for two months consecutively as a way of repentance.

…..It is not lawful for a believer to kill another believer except by error, and whoever slays a believer by error, he should free a believing slave and pay blood money to the heirs of the killed person, unless they charitably forgo it. But if he was from a people at war with you, and he was a believer, then free a believing slave. And if he was from a people with whom you have a treaty, then blood money should be paid to his family and a believing slave be freed. For those who find this beyond their means, it is prescribed a fast for two months running. A penance from God and God is All Knowing, All Wise (Surah 4:92).

So if she is to fast for two months running during her menstruation periods she has no excuse to claim exemption during the month of Ramadhan. There is another evident from the Quran during the Pilgrimage the woman has to fast whether she is having her period or not, when the woman is a non resident of Makkah who wish to proceed to the Hajj from the Umrah and has not the mean to make an offering, she must fast for a total of ten days

…..if any one wishes to continue the Umrah on to the Hajj, he must make an offering, such as he can afford, but if he cannot afford it, he should fast three days during the Hajj and seven days on his return, making ten days in all. This is for those whose household is not in the precinct of the Sacred Mosque. And fear God, and know that God is strict in punishment (Surah 2:196).

In spite of these verses in the Quran, there are those who preach to the women that when they have their periods it is forbidden for them to do all the righteous deeds to God like praying, fasting, reading the Quran, and etc and they are quoting a verse which God only forbid them to sleep with their husbands during their menstruation but does not indicate that God forbid them from doing their daily obligatory in worshipping Him

…..They ask you on women’s menstruation, say, “They are a hurt” so keep away from women in their courses, and do not approach them until they are clean. And when they have cleansed themselves, you may approach them as God has directed you. Surely God loves those who repent and those who purify themselves (Surah 2:222).

Even Mary fasted for after she delivered Jesus and she was also at her menstruation after child birth.

"So eat and drink and cool (thine) eye. And if thou dost see any man, say, 'I have vowed a fast to (Allah) Most Gracious, and this day will I enter into not talk with any human being'"

Thus the Surah 4:92 and Surah 2:196 clearly shows that if a woman killed another believer accidentally and have no mean to compensate the deceased family she has to fast two months consecutively irrespective whether she is having her periods. So is the woman who wishes to continue her Hajj from Umrah and has no means to make an offering as she cannot afford it, then she has to fast a total of ten days whether she is having her periods or not.

It is clear that the practice of preventing the women from the normal duties toward God during their periods is indeed an invention against the guidance from the Quran. Since there is nothing in the Quran that God had granted His excuse on the women of their daily duties toward Him during their menstruation, then this negligence of duties must be taken by women seriously so as to avoid the wrath of God in the hereafter.

The Prophet has been warned by God to be careful of the Jews and the Christians

…..Never will the Jews or the Christian be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion. Say: “The guidance of God that is the only guidance.” Were thou to follow their desires after the knowledge which has reached thee, then thou would find neither protector nor helper against God (Surah 2:120)

With the above warning from God it is impossible to claim that it was the Prophet who sanction the excuse of women to refrain from doing their duties to God during their menstruation and the Prophet will never follow the Christian/Jewish practice especially when the source of this practice has its root from the Bible

…..after a woman gives birth to a son, she is ritually unclean, as she is during her monthly period. On the eighth day, the child shall be circumcised. Then it will be thirty three more days until she is ritually clean from her loss of blood; she must not touch anything that is Holy or entered the Sacred Sanctuary until the time of her purification is completed (Leviticus 12:2-4 The Bible).

So it is clear that this practice is not sanctioned by God anywhere in the Quran but is sinisterly copied from the Bible and a fabrication against the good name of our Prophet who will never put his authorization as it contradicted against the guidance of God in the Quran.


Asar