If a Woman Gets Her Period during Prayer and Realizes Afterward, Must She Make It Up?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

If a woman gets her period during prayer and realizes it afterward, does she need to make up that prayer once she is ritually pure?

Answer

I pray you are well.

No, you do not need to make up a prayer if your period starts during it.

In the Hanafi school, we generally look at the end of the prayer time. If her period starts just before the last part of the prayer time she does not have to make it up. Conversely, if the period ends towards the last part of the prayer time – such that she has enough time to perform a ghusl, get dressed, and initiate the prayer – she has to make that prayer up if she doesn’t perform it. [Laknawi, ‘Umdat al-Ri‘aya]

It’s useful to maintain a routine of worship even when one is not praying to consistently draw closer to Allah and maintain the momentum of worship. Some blessings on the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) at the usual time of the prayer will be very beneficial for you, insha’Allah.

May Allah bless you with the best of both worlds.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.