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Sex after Period and before Ghusl in Islam

02 March, 2024
Q As-Salamu `alaykum. I have a question regarding the woman’s menstrual cycle. Does my wife need to perform ghusl (bathing) before we have intercourse? We wait for her period to finish and have intercourse before she has performed ghusl. Is this allowed in Islam, or does she need to perform ghusl first? Also, if this is not allowed, then how can we rectify the situation for what has already been done? Jazakum Allah khayran.

Answer

Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.


In this fatwa:

1- We are not allowed to engage in sexual intercourse with our wives during their monthly periods.

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2- If the wife assures that the blood has stopped and her period is over, then she has to perform ghusl (cleansing of the body) before she has intercourse with her husband or resumes offering Prayer and fasting.


Elaborating on this, the eminent Muslim scholar, Dr. Sabri `Abder-Ra’oof Muhammad, Professor of Comparative Fiqh at Al-Azhar University and a member of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, states:

Almighty Allah says: {They question you (O Muhammad) concerning menstruation. Say: It is an illness, so let women alone at such time and go not in unto them till they are cleansed. And when they have purified themselves, then go in unto them as Allah has enjoined upon you. Truly Allah loves those who turn unto Him, and loves those who have a care for cleanness.} (Al-Baqarah 2:222)

Based on the above, it becomes clear that Allah has ordained that it is not permissible for the husband to have sexual relations with his menstruating wife.

The time when the husband is allowed to resume this relation is after the flow of blood has ended and she has been purified by performing ghusl. This is clear from Almighty Allah’s saying: {so let women alone at such time and go not in unto them till they are cleansed,} which means after the menstrual blood stops. {And when they have purified themselves, then go in unto them as Allah has enjoined upon you,} means that when the wife performs ghusl, then the husband can have intercourse with her.

Thus, it is impermissible for a husband to have intercourse with his wife before she performs ghusl and if he did so before she performed ghusl, he has to ask Allah for forgiveness. He can give charity as an expiation for his doing so.

Allah Almighty knows best.

Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.