What Is Nifas?

Nifas is the blood that comes from a woman because of childbirth, either with the birth or after it. According to the stronger view, blood close to childbirth is also included if it is accompanied by labor pains or clear signs of delivery, because it is blood that came because of childbirth.

As for water or discharges that precede delivery without blood, they are not nifas. Blood that is far from delivery and is not accompanied by its signs is not judged to be nifas merely because the woman is pregnant; rather, it needs medical evaluation and asking people of knowledge.

The blood that comes immediately after childbirth is postpartum bleeding, whether the birth was vaginal or by cesarean, as long as the blood comes because of childbirth.

What Is the Evidence for the Duration of Nifas?

Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, said:

Narrated by Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, and Ahmad, and graded hasan by a group of hadith scholars.

Al-Tirmidhi transmitted that the people of knowledge among the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, the Tabiin, and those after them said that the woman in nifas leaves prayer for forty days, unless she sees purity before that, in which case she makes ghusl and prays.

For this reason, most scholars held that the maximum duration of nifas is forty days. This is the madhhab of the Hanafis and Hanbalis, and it is reported from a group of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. Some jurists held that its maximum is sixty days, but the relied-upon view in this article is the forty-day view because of the strength of its evidence and the reports from the Companions regarding it.

Must a Woman in Nifas Wait Forty Days?

No. Forty days is the maximum duration of nifas according to the view adopted here; it is not a required duration for every woman.

If the blood stops after ten days, twenty days, or thirty days, and the woman sees the sign of purity, she must make ghusl, pray, and fast if fasting is obligatory. It is not permissible for her to leave prayer until forty days are completed after purity has been verified.

There is no minimum duration for nifas according to the four madhhabs. It may last only a few days, and it may stop shortly after childbirth.

How Does a Woman in Nifas Know She Has Become Pure?

Purity is known by one of two signs:

1. The white discharge: a white fluid that some women recognize when the blood ends.
2. Complete dryness: when the cotton or tissue comes out clean from blood, yellow discharge, and brown discharge.

Not all women see the white discharge, so whoever recognizes her purity by complete dryness acts upon it.

As for merely lighter blood, or its stopping for hours while yellow or brown discharge connected to it remains, that is not verified purity.

What Is the Ruling on Yellow and Brown Discharge During Nifas?

Yellow and brown discharge connected to postpartum blood before purity is seen have the ruling of nifas. The woman does not pray or fast until she sees the white discharge or complete dryness.

But if she sees purity and then separate yellow or brown discharge appears, then in principle she does not return to being in nifas merely because of that, because Umm Atiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, said:

Narrated by Abu Dawud, and the basis of the hadith is in Sahih al-Bukhari.

If clear blood returns within the forty days after valid purity, it has another ruling that will be mentioned later.

What Is Prohibited for the Woman in Nifas?

The ruling of the woman in nifas is the ruling of the menstruating woman in rulings related to the blood, and scholars have transmitted agreement on this in general. Among her rulings are:

1. She does not pray during nifas.
2. She does not fast, and fasting during nifas is not valid from her.
3. She does not perform tawaf around the House until she becomes pure.
4. Her husband may not have intercourse with her until the blood stops and she makes ghusl.
5. Divorce should not be issued against her during nifas, because it is an innovated and prohibited divorce. As for whether it takes effect, there is disagreement among the scholars.

Allah says regarding menstruation:

Nifas is like menstruation in these rulings according to the people of knowledge.

What Is Permissible for the Woman in Nifas?

It is permissible for the woman in nifas to remember Allah, make dua, seek forgiveness, send prayers upon the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, listen to the Quran, and read adhkar and supplications.

According to a group of scholars, it is permissible for her to recite Quran from memory or from a phone, especially when there is a need or fear of forgetting, because no authentic and explicit evidence is established that prevents the menstruating woman or the woman in nifas from reciting. As for the paper mushaf, she should not touch it directly until she becomes pure; this is the view of the four madhhabs and the generality of scholars.

It is not prohibited for the woman in nifas to prepare food, touch things, or sit with her family. A Muslim woman is not impure in herself; the ruling is connected to the blood and whatever it touches.

Does the Woman in Nifas Make Up Prayer and Fasting?

The woman in nifas does not make up the prayers she left during nifas, but she makes up obligatory fasting, such as the days of Ramadan that she missed.

Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said:

Agreed upon.

This hadith is about menstruation, and nifas takes its ruling in this matter by agreement of the people of knowledge.

What Should She Do If She Becomes Pure Before Forty Days?

If the woman in nifas sees the sign of purity before forty days:

1. She makes ghusl from nifas.
2. She begins praying from the time purity is verified.
3. She fasts if fasting is obligatory.
4. She becomes lawful for her husband after purity and ghusl.
5. She does not wait for forty days to be completed.

If she is certain of purity before Fajr and intends to fast, her fast is valid even if she makes ghusl after dawn, but she must make ghusl in time to perform Fajr prayer before its time ends.

But if she is certain that purity did not occur until after dawn, or she does not know that it occurred before dawn, then the default is that nifas remained at dawn, so fasting that day of Ramadan is not valid and she makes it up later.

What If the Blood Stops and Then Returns Before Forty Days?

If a woman sees valid purity during the forty days, she makes ghusl, prays, and fasts, and what she did during the days of purity is valid.

If clear blood returns within the forty days, then the correct view according to a group of scholars is that it returns to the ruling of nifas. She leaves prayer and fasting until she becomes pure again or completes forty days. She does not repeat the prayer or fasting she performed during the days of purity, because it occurred during a time of valid purity.

As for small separate drops after continuing purity, or bleeding whose connection to childbirth is doubtful, it may not take the ruling of nifas. The woman needs to describe the days and blood precisely when asking a trustworthy scholar.

What Should She Do If the Blood Continues After Forty Days?

According to the view adopted here, if the woman completes forty days and blood remains:

1. She makes ghusl when forty days are completed.
2. She prays and fasts.
3. She uses protection from the blood to prevent its spread as much as possible.
4. She follows the rulings of the mustahadah in purification.

According to the majority of jurists, she washes the place of blood, uses protection, then makes wudu after the time of each prayer enters as long as the bleeding continues, and what comes out after that during the prayer time does not harm her. The Malikis, Zahiris, and a group of the Salaf, and this was chosen by al-Shawkani and Ibn Uthaymin, held that continuous hadath does not require renewing wudu for every prayer unless another nullifier occurs. The issue is one of disagreement, and the woman acts upon a trustworthy fatwa.

If the blood after forty days coincides with her known menstrual habit and has the characteristics of menstruation, she sits for the duration of her menstruation. But if it is connected to nifas and does not coincide with a known menstrual habit, then according to this view the basic ruling is that it is istihadah after forty days.

Because some jurists make the maximum duration of nifas sixty days, whoever follows a recognized fiqh madhhab, or receives a fatwa from a trustworthy scholar after he knows the details of her case, acts upon that fatwa and does not move between views seeking what is easiest.

How Does a Woman Make Ghusl from Nifas?

When a woman becomes pure, she intends to remove the state of major impurity, then covers her whole body with water and makes water reach the roots of the hair and all the skin. The more complete way is to:

1. Wash her hands.
2. Wash the place of blood and whatever it touched.
3. Make wudu as for prayer.
4. Pour water over her head and make it reach the roots of the hair.
5. Wash the rest of her body.

Soap or shampoo is not required for the validity of ghusl. According to the majority of scholars, if the hair is braided and water reaches its roots, it does not have to be undone. But anything that prevents water from reaching must be removed.

What Is the Ruling on Nifas After a Cesarean Birth?

The consideration is that blood comes because of childbirth, not the path by which the child came out. If a woman gives birth by cesarean and then the blood of childbirth comes from her, she is in nifas until she becomes pure or reaches the adopted maximum duration.

As for blood from the surgical wound, it is not nifas blood because it did not come from the womb.

What If a Woman Gives Birth and Sees No Blood?

If a woman gives birth and sees no postpartum blood, she is pure and does not leave prayer or fasting, because nifas is the blood and it did not exist.

Jurists differed over whether ghusl is required merely because of childbirth without blood. Some did not require it, and some required it. The safer course is that she makes ghusl if she is able, then prays. If she is in pain or unable, she prays according to her ability and follows the rulings of the sick person.

When Is Blood After Miscarriage Considered Nifas?

If a woman miscarries a fetus in which human form has become visible, such as the head, hand, or foot, then the blood that comes because of it is nifas.

But if human form has not become visible in the miscarriage, then in principle the blood is not nifas; rather, it is istihadah, unless it coincides with the time of menstruation and has its characteristics, in which case it may be menstruation according to those who hold that.

One should not rely on the number of pregnancy weeks alone in unclear cases. Rather, the doctor's report is used to know the state of the miscarriage and its formation, then its description and the time of the blood are presented to a trustworthy scholar.

Is Blood Before Childbirth Nifas?

Blood close to childbirth, if accompanied by labor pains or clear signs of delivery, is considered nifas according to a group of scholars, and this was chosen by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and the two Shaykhs Ibn Baz and Ibn Uthaymin.

As for blood that comes before childbirth without labor pains and without a sign that delivery is near, it is not ruled nifas merely because the due date is close. The woman consults a doctor and asks people of knowledge about its ruling.

The forty-day period begins from the birth of the child, so the days before delivery are not counted as part of the duration of nifas.

Practical Steps for the Woman in Nifas

1. Record the day of delivery and the time the blood began.
2. Watch for the sign of purity without excessive checking that opens the door to waswasah.
3. If she sees purity, she makes ghusl and prays and does not wait for forty days.
4. If clear blood returns within the forty days, she records when it returned and acts according to the ruling of nifas based on the adopted view.
5. When forty days are completed, she distinguishes between menstrual blood that matches her habit and istihadah.
6. She consults the doctor regarding unusual bleeding and presents the details to a trustworthy scholar when the matter is unclear.