Is a ritual bath (ghusl) required after the emission of the white discharge (al-Qassah al-Bayda'), or after the first instance of dryness encountered? And what is the meaning of waiting for the white discharge until the end of the prayer time? And is the intent of Aisha's, may Allah be pleased with her, statement to women not to rush and to wait for the white discharge, or is the intent the continuous yellowish discharge without any interceding dryness, or the one in which intermittent dryness occurs?

A woman recognizes purity by one of two signs: dryness (the cotton swab comes out clean), or the white discharge (a white fluid that appears after menstruation). So, whenever she sees one of these, she has become pure. Yellowish and brownish discharges during the period are considered menstruation, but after purity and the regular period, they are not considered menstruation, based on the hadith of Umm Atiyyah. If she sees dryness, even a little, she has become pure, so she should perform ghusl and pray, according to the saying of Ibn Abbas.