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:
- Muslim mothers should teach their daughters about their period, its biological explanation and the rules of purification before the girls attain maturity. There is nothing to be shy about discussing period with your daughter.
- If you are too shy to talk to your daughter about issues like this, then your best bet is to seek help from other Muslim women preferably those who are teachers or female Muslim doctors to explain things to her.
- You can get some good books which may deal with such topics in a clear way that children of her age group can readily grasp.
In responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
Teaching daughters about period
There is nothing to be shy about discussing period with your daughter. We know that the Muslim women during the Prophet’s time were quite frank about asking him questions related to such matters without any qualms or inhibitions whatsoever.
If, however, you are too shy to talk to your daughter about issues like this, or you find yourself inhibited or unable to answer her more detailed queries on such matters, then your best bet is to seek help from other Muslim women preferably those who are teachers or female Muslim doctors to explain things to her.
If she is attending Islamic classes, let a knowledgeable and qualified female teacher have a session about such issues with girls of her own age group. The sooner you do this the better, for it is important for her to know about this issue before she experiences it.
Alternatively, you can get some good books which may deal with such topics in a clear way that children of her age group can readily grasp.
Useful references
Here is a list of books I suggest that you get as soon as possible to make them available for your daughter:
For Heaven’s Sake by Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood (Tahah Publications, Ltd.)
Living With Teenagers by Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood (Tahah Publications, Ltd.)
What Islam Is All About by Yahya Emerick.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.