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Are the three days in which blood flows intermittently before the menstrual period (a good amount on the first day, then it stops on the second, then returns lightly on the third) considered part of menstruation, and thus prayer and fasting should be abandoned during them, or are they considered days of purity?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a woman sees blood at a time when it could be menstruation, for example, if thirteen days have passed since the cessation of her previous menstrual period, then it is menstrual blood. When it stops, she must perform ghusl and pray. Then, she returns to being in a state of menstruation if the blood reappears at a time when it could be menstruation. She must make up for the fasts of the days during which she saw blood. The period of purity that occurs intermittently during menstruation is a valid state of purity in which fasting is permissible and does not require making up, and prayer is obligatory during it. The minimum duration of menstruation according to the majority of scholars is one day and one night. If the blood stops before that, ghusl is not obligatory. If it reappears until it reaches one day and one night, she must make up the prayers she performed during the intermittent period of purity. However, according to the Malikis, there is no minimum limit for menstruation, so a woman performs ghusl after the cessation of any blood she sees.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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