Does Yellow Mean That My Period Is Over and I Can Shower?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question:

If my discharge color is like the color of urine, is this classed as the end of menses? Initially, it’s a dark yellow, then pale yellow. Can I shower at this point? This is not a clear, white discharge. I do not know the ruling, so after ten days, I just showered, but I still have this discharge. Do I need to make up prayers before the ten days? This is really stressing me out as no one has responded, and I will have many days of make-up prayers.

Answer:

Assalamu alaykum,

Thank you for your question. I apologize for the delay in answering your question.

Yellow discharge

Only clear or white discharge denotes purity, so your period is not over, and you should wait until it’s clear. In the Shafi’i school, a valid period can occur anywhere between 24 hours and 15 days. As such, you are still on your period, you should not start praying, and your ritual bath was invalid. You have no prayers to make up at this point, but if you have prayed and fasted after that shower, they will have been invalid.

Determining the end of menses

In order to determine the end of your menses, you should apply a kursuf, which is a small piece of white cloth (toilet paper disintegrates too easily) about 30-40 minutes before the end of the prayer time inserted between the labial lips. Walk around and wait for some moisture to come down. When you remove it and check, you will see the true color without it being oxidized. If it’s clear, you have enough time to shower and pray; if it isn’t, then do it again at the end of the next prayer time. You don’t need to do this for your whole period, of course, just toward the end, when you suspect that your menses is ending.

Don’t hesitate to follow up with any questions. 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, 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.