Miscarried fetus and prayer

Question:

When can a woman stop and start praying in this situation: I had been bleeding for three weeks. The bleed was becoming heavy, so on Monday, I had a procedure on Monday to have the fetus removed (the baby was at this point about 7/8 weeks); when do I count 10 days from? Also, I am not completely sure if the fetus left my body before or during the procedure.

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

The blood seen after a miscarried embryo, i.e., no human features are apparent, e.g., a finger, nail, or hair, would not be considered nifas (lochia). If the blood continued for at least three days and was preceded by a complete pure cycle, it would be regarded as menstruation; otherwise, it would take the ruling of istihadha.

During menstruation, you must refrain from praying; thus, you will only pray during the duration of purity and istihadha (considering the laws related to a woman in istihadha). To solve this issue, you must know your menstrual habit in terms of days. I will mention a simple example to facilitate calculation: You have a 7-day menstrual habit and a 21-day pure habit. Hence, you experience seven days of menstruation as usual. However, you become pregnant, thus remain pure for 30 days. Then, you experience 15 days of bleeding, and on the 16th day, you have a miscarriage.

· Day 1-Day 7 (Menstruation)

· Day 8-Day 37 (Pure)

· Day 38-Day 44 (Menstruation)

· Day 45-Day 53 (Istihadha)

On the contrary, if any human features of the miscarried fetus became apparent, then the blood after the miscarriage would be considered nifas (lochia). During nifas, a woman must refrain from praying. Also, nifas does not have a minimum duration; however, the maximum number of days is 40. Like menstruation, the woman experiencing nifas will also consider her habit, e.g., her bleeding habit after giving birth is 30 days.

If you are unsure regarding when the fetus exited, we advise that you ponder and act upon your predominant presumption (i.e., where your heart is more inclined towards). If you still cannot arrive at a conclusion, adopt precaution. In other words, regarding the days you are uncertain of, avoid intimate relations, take a bath before every prayer, and fast during the month of Ramadan; after that, proportionally make them up (Qadha). If you need further clarification, do not hesitate to contact us again, or you may refer your situation to a local Alim (scholar).

Fatawa Hindiya: v. 1, p. 40-42 (DKI); Raddul Muhtar: v. 1, p. 500-501 (Maktaba Imdadia); Birgivi’s Manual Interpreted: p. 162-163 (Amana Publications); Fatawa Sirajiya: p. 50 (Zamzam)

Only Allah knows best

Written by Maulana Mohammad Ahsan Osmani

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham