Does a Woman Have to Perform Istibra During Her Period?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
I was wondering if it is required to perform istinja when one is on their menses. I read somewhere that a woman should do so. Is this required or recommended as it does not seem easy to do istinja whilst bleeding?
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
The process of ensuring that there are no traces of urine at the point of exit is called Istibra.
The duty to perform Istibra is only incumbent upon men. Women don’t have to perform Istibra, whether she is menstruating or not. A woman simply needs to wait for a little after urinating, and that’s it. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
As for Istinja, which is cleaning the rear point of exit by using water or stones (in our time, toilet paper), there are no differences between men and women, even if she is in a state of menstruation. The duty is the same. It is sunna to remove the filth at the exit point as long as the area covered by filth is less than a circle with a diameter of 5 cm. Toilet paper is enough for this, but water is better. If the filth crosses this circle, then it is obligatory to remove it with water. [Ibid]
And Allah knows best.
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found.
Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.
He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others.
He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.
