When Should I Ghusl After Menstruation?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

In the past I have taken ghusl from hayd as soon as I saw a very pale yellow discharge on my 8th or 9th day thinking that this is the end of my period. There would be no discolored discharge after this. Was that valid? 

If not, how do I correct all my previous prayers and Quran recitation I did with that ghusl as there is no way to keep count? I’m feeling very low-spirited regarding this.

Answer

One should wait until one’s discharge is white or clear in order to take a ghusl and this is the relied-upon position in our school.  There is a strong, followable, alternative position in the Shafi`i school that yellow discharge is not hayd. According to this position, you can simply treat your yellow discharge (from the past) like white or clear discharge (no hayd), and the darker colours as actual hayd. The periods of yellow discharge would then be istihada and your ghusls would have been valid.

As from today, you should only take your ghusl after you see clear or white, and not continue what you did in the past. You should review your personally obligatory knowledge so that you don’t fall into another problem from the past. May Allah reward you for your striving to do what is right.

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

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied Aqidah, Fiqh, Tajweed, Tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Master’s in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied Fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.