Is it obligatory to remove all traces of blood for prayer during istihada when in a relative's house where soiled clothes cannot be changed, or is it permissible to perform ablution and pray, or should the prayer be delayed until returning home?

A woman experiencing istiḥāḍah (non-menstrual vaginal bleeding) must take precautions regarding both ritual impurity (ḥadath) and physical impurity (najis). She should wash off the blood and insert a piece of cotton or cloth (iḥtishā’). If the bleeding is not stopped by this alone, she should secure herself with a bandage or binding (shadd wal-taʿṣīb).

When the time for the next prayer arrives, jurists differ on whether she must repeat these actions or if ablution (wuḍūʾ) alone suffices. The Shāfiʿīs are of the opinion that renewal is obligatory if the bandage comes off or blood reappears. If they do not come off, there are two views.

The Ḥanbalīs, however, hold that it is not obligatory to repeat the washing and binding for every prayer if she has not been negligent. They base this on the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and this approach is easier for the woman. She is permitted to combine the Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr prayers, and the Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ prayers, in a "formative" (ṣūrī) manner, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) clarified for Ḥamnah bint Jaḥsh.