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Womens' Rights in Islam
Treatment of the menstruating woman in Islam
In ancient Egypt, a menstruating woman was considered as dirty, she would have to eat alone, sleep alone and her husband would avoid her because they believed that her body was secreting poisons. Old Greeks considered her as possessed with evil spirits and so they avoided her. Other religions ordered the husband not to touch his wife, eat, drink, sit or even stay in the same place with her until she is purified from menstruation and seven days pass after her purification. Old Arabs had the same belief that the menstruating woman’s body was secreting poison.
As recently as 1952, Olive and George Smith of Harvard University inaccurately proposed the existence of menotoxin, a toxic substance in menstrual blood based on a study where laboratory animals injected with menstrual blood died. When the experiments were repeated by a scientist who added antibiotics to the injection, however, the animals lived, suggesting the lethal effect found by the Smiths was actually due to bacteria in the blood, not the blood itself.
Islam did not have that prejudiced view of menstruation. Islam allowed the man to eat, sit and live a normal life with his menstruating wife. The only thing he is not allowed to do is to have sexual intercourse with her. To resume their sexual relation Islam put two conditions:
1. Menstruation blood stops
2. The woman washes up with water, how to wash after menses is explained in the following hadith of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him
I present here a Fatwa from Islamonline concerning the vision of Islam regarding the female menstruation period. You can read the fatwa at http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503547278
In his response to your question, Sheikh M. S. Al-Munajjid, a prominent Saudi Muslim lecturer and author, states:
“Allah has forbidden men to have intercourse with their wives at the time of menstruation.
The Qur’an clearly states the reason for this prohibition, which is that menstruation is adha (a harmful thing). Allah says: “They question thee (O Muhammad) concerning menstruation. Say: It is an illness (a harmful thing), so let women alone at such time and go not in unto them till they are cleansed." (Al-Baqarah: 222).
Scientific studies in this field have disclosed to us some of the harm that is referred to in this verse, but they have not managed to describe all the harms that are referred to in the Qur’anic text.
Dr. Muhiy al-Deen al-`Alabi said: It is essential to refrain from having intercourse with a menstruating woman because doing so leads to an increase in the flow of menstrual blood, because the veins of the uterus are congested and prone to rupture, and get damaged easily. Also the wall of the vagina is also susceptible to injury, so the likelihood of inflammation is increased, which leads to inflammation in the uterus and in the man’s penis, because of the irritation that occurs during intercourse. Having intercourse with a menstruating woman may also be off-putting to both the man and his wife, because of the presence and smell of blood, which may make the man impotent (i.e., uninterested in sex).
Speaking of the harm that may be caused to the menstruating woman, Dr. Muhammad al-Bar said: The lining of the uterus is shed during menstruation, and the uterus is scarred as a result, just like when the skin is flayed. So it is vulnerable to bacteria and the introduction of the bacteria that are to be found at the tip of the penis poses a great danger to the uterus.
Hence the penetration of the penis into the vagina at the time of menstruation is no more than the introduction of germs at a time when the body is unable to fight them.
Dr. al-Bar thinks that the harm is not limited to the introduction of germs into the uterus and vagina, which is difficult to treat;
rather it also extends to other things, namely:
1. The spread of infection to the fallopian tubes, which may then become blocked, which in turn may lead to infertility or ectopic pregnancy, which is the most dangerous kind of pregnancy.
2. The spread of infection to the urethra, bladder and kidneys; diseases of the urinary tract are usually serious and chronic.
3. Increase of germs in the menstrual blood, especially gonorrhea germs.
The menstruating woman is also in a physical and psychological state that is not conducive to intercourse, so if it takes place it will harm her a great deal and cause her pains during her period,
as Dr. al-Bar said:
1. Menstruation is accompanied by pain, the severity of which varies from one woman to another. Most women experience pain in the back and lower abdomen. For some women the pain is unbearable and has to be treated with medication and painkillers.
2. Many woman suffer depression and stress during their period, especially at the beginning, and their mental and intellectual state is at the lowest level during menstruation.
3. Some women suffer migraines just before their period starts, and the pain is severe and causes visual disturbances and vomiting.
4. Women’s sexual desire decreases, and many women have no interest at all in sex during their periods. The entire reproductive system is in a state that is akin to sickness, so intercourse at this time is not natural and serves no purpose; rather it can cause a great deal of harm.
5. A woman’s temperature drops during menstruation, as does her pulse and blood pressure, which makes her feel dizzy, exhausted and lethargic.
Dr. al-Bar also mentions that the harm is not only caused to the woman by having intercourse with her, rather the man is also affected by this action, which may cause infection in his reproductive system which may lead to sterility as a result. The severe pains suffered as a result of this infection may be even worse than the sterility it causes.
And there are many other harmful effects, some of which have not yet been discovered, but Allah has referred to them when He said: “Say: It is an adha (a harmful thing for a husband to have a sexual intercourse with his wife while she is having her menses), so let women alone at such time and go not in unto them till they are cleansed." (Al-Baqarah: 222).
Allah has described it as adha, a harmful thing both for the wife and for the husband, and other harmful effects about which Allah knows best.
Thus it becomes clear that the prohibition on intercourse at the time of menstruation is not just because of the blood, rather it is for many reasons as stated above.
The Muslim must also obey the command of Allah, for He is the Creator and He knows best what is good for His slaves and what is harmful to them. He is the One Who says “ so let (menstruating) women alone at such time", so even if the reason behind this is not clear, we must still submit to the command of Allah Who has commanded that a man should not have intercourse with his wife during this time.
However it is permissible for a man to be intimate with his wife, without having intercourse (at the time of menstruation)."
In the Translation of Sahih bukhari, Book 6, Menstrual Periods, Volume 1, Number 312: Narrated 'Aisha: An Ansari woman asked the Prophet how to take a bath after finishing from the menses. He replied, "Take a piece a cloth perfumed with musk and clean the private parts with it thrice." The Prophet felt shy and turned his face. So I pulled her to me and told her what the Prophet meant.
Allah Almighty said : “They ask you concerning menstruation. Say: that is an Adha (a harmful thing to have a sexual intercourse with the wife while she is having her menses), therefore keep away from women during menses and go not unto them till they have purified (from menses and have taken a bath). And when they have purified themselves, then go in unto them as Allah has ordained for you (go in unto them in any manner as long as it is in their vagina). Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves (by taking a bath and cleaning and washing thoroughly their private parts, bodies, for their prayers, etc.)." (AlBakaraa : 22)
This verse orders Muslim men not to have sexual intercourse with their wives during menstruation.
How did Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him treat his wives during menstruation?
- In the Translation of Sahih bukhari, Book 6, Menstrual Periods, Volume 1, Number 294: Mother of the believers 'Aisha Narrated: While in menses, I used to comb the hair of Allah's Apostle .
- In the Translation of Sahih bukhari, Book 6, Menstrual Periods, Volume 1, Number 296: Mother of the believers 'Aisha Narrated: The Prophet used to lean on my lap and recite Qur'an while I was in menses.
- In the Translation of Sahih bukhari, Book 6, Menstrual Periods, Volume 1, Number 296: Mother of the believers Um Salama Narrated: While I was laying with the Prophet under a single woolen sheet, I got the menses. I slipped away and put on the clothes for menses. He said, "Have you got "Nifas" (menses)?" I replied, "Yes." He then called me and made me lie with him under the same sheet.
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