Can I Ignore My One Day of Spotting Because My Period Came Later?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

I saw blood when I was expecting my period to come. It came after 20 days of purity. But then it ended after 22 hours. So does it not count as hayd because it is less than three days, which means it was istihadha? Then after eight days, I got my actual period.

What do I have to do about the missed prayers of this day? Are there any specific rulings? Because I did not know that it would be istihadha, although it was time for my period.

Answer

May Allah reward you for seeking the correct answer before acting.

Spotting

If you saw spotting after 20 days of purity and ended within 22 hours, it was not menstruation and simply istihada. Taking a ghusl after it stopped was unnecessary because it was not menstruating.

However, when your period started eight days later, you would add that bleeding to your current period, making the first day of the new bleeding the tenth day of your period. The prayers on that first day of spot bleeding don’t require repetition.

If you find that your period goes over 15 days, please write back to us, and we can see if that first day of bleeding can be discounted, making your subsequent bleeding the actual start of your period.

Please see some basic principles here:
The Fiqh of Menstruation (Shafi’i Fiqh)
Menstruation and Prayer

May Allah Most High give you the best of this world and the next.

[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqida, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.