Back to search

What is the ruling on continuous bleeding for more than a week after the end of the menstrual period that followed a miscarriage? Is it menses or istihada (post-menstrual bleeding)? And what is the ruling on not abandoning prayer based on the presumption of istihada, combining prayers by offering the later prayer at the time of the earlier (jam' taqdim), and shortening the Dhuhr and Asr prayers in this situation?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Blood after a miscarriage is considered nifas (postnatal bleeding) if the fetus was eighty days old or more; otherwise, it is considered istihadah (irregular bleeding), unless it coincides with the usual period, in which case it is considered menstruation.

Blood after forty days is considered menstruation, and blood that returns after an interruption, if it occurs during a time suitable for menstruation, is menstruation; otherwise, it is istihadah.

It is not permissible to combine prayers except for a valid excuse that permits it, and combining them without an excuse is a major sin.

Shortening prayers (qasr) is only permissible during travel, and a resident does not shorten prayers.

A traveler whose journey permits qasr may combine and shorten the four-rak'ah prayers. As for a resident, they may combine prayers without shortening them if there is a valid reason for combining.

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

Read the full answer on Ftawy