Does Brown, Rosy and Yellow Discharge Invalidate My Fast?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

I usually don’t get brownish discharge before my period, but I got it and I am confused about whether it invalidates my fast. Once, I saw it after maghrib, but when I insert white tissue, it appeared to be nothing. So should I make up the fast for it?

One time, I got brown discharge and inserted tissue and saw a rosy shade. Does that invalidate my fast? What about yellow discharge? I am a woman who gets so much vaginal discharge and sometimes it appears yellow. Does it break my fast as I see nothing on upon insertion?

Answer

Thank you for your question. May Allah reward you for trying to distinguish your days of purity for His good pleasure.

Colors

The colors that you mentioned, brown, rosy and yellow, are all colors of menstruation. If you see them, you should refrain from praying and you should watch them carefully to see their duration and record it so that you detect patterns. They would also invalidate your fast and those would need to be made up.

Spotting

However, if these colors appeared as random spotting after you already have had a full period, then it might be considered istihada (abnormal uterine discharge). In that case, you wouldn’t need to make up any prayer or fast, nor take a ritual bath. I can’t give you a definite answer about your discharge until you send the dates that your period started and finished and when the spots occurred during your purity.

Notes

Also, keep in mind two things. Don’t insert anything in your private parts to check the color if you are unmarried (virgin). Also, if you are married, don’t insert anything in your private parts to check while you are fasting because that invalidates the fast.

Steps

Please take these steps when you think your period is finishing:

1. Check your discharge on a white cloth or something that doesn’t disintegrate as tissue does;
2. Take only ten seconds to discern the color and don’t study it for a long time as that can give way to doubt;
3. Check the color in natural light if possible;
4. Make sure you are not looking at a clump, as a clump is always darker. Spread it out;
5. Make sure you are checking it while wet because it will get darker when dry;
6. Finally, use a kursuf (a piece of white material -not tissue- placed gently between the labial lips. Then if you walk around for 5-10 minutes and check, it will give you the most recent, fresh color to discern);
7. Place the kursuf 30 minutes or so before the end of the prayer time so you can see whether your period ended with enough time for you to shower and pray an obligatory prayer.

Conclusion

Wait until you see white or clear discharge as only that is purity. If you see yellow often, then please register the days and times that you see it, and we can see if it warrants a dispensation.

May Allah 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 aqidah, 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.