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:
Persistent bleeding lasting beyond fifteen days is classified as Istihadah and not menstruation. Women experiencing such bleeding should adhere to their regular menstrual habits or the maximum menstrual period of fifteen days to determine when to perform ghusl and resume religious duties. Understanding the distinction between menstruation and Istihadah is crucial for maintaining proper observance of Islamic guidelines.
In responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
Your persistent bleeding has nothing to do with menstruation; it is the case of what is known as istihadah or chronic bleeding.
You only need to stay away from prayers and conjugal relations (i.e. intercourse) during your monthly period or menses. To determine this, you should go by your habit prior to this chronic bleeding started.
In other words, if you had the habit of menstruating for six or seven days every month, that would be deemed as your period. You ought to perform ritual bathing (ghusl) and start praying afterwards. You can also have intercourse afterwards.
If, however, the above was not the case with you, and you always had this persistent bleeding from early on then, you need to go by the maximum period of menses, which is fifteen days. Menses cannot exceed more than fifteen days, as ruled by eminent scholars.
Therefore, you ought to perform ghusl on the sixteenth day and resume prayers, etc., afterwards.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.