Q:

Assalmu alaikum

Last night I made the intention to keep my fast as I had thought I had finished my period. Because I had work In the morning my plan was to keep the fast and do my ghusl when I finished. When I woke up in the morning I did have a clear discharge, so I kept the fast. However when I arrived at work, I had brown discharge a few times when going to the toilet. I asked for some advise and was told my fast was not valid so I ate. However I did some research and it seems my fast could have been valid? Please can you advise me if it was valid or not. I find it all very confusing as different people say different things. If my fast was not valid, can I just make it up or is there anything else I need to do?

Hope to hear from you soon

Thank you

A:

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu waRahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

Your fast is not invalidated if you see brownish discharge after you had seen the white discharge. For details, let me cite here one of my earlier answers:

“You are free of menses only when your bleeding has completely stopped, and you see the white discharge, following your regular pattern. However, after you have seen the white discharge, if you experience pinkish or brownish discharges afterwards, you need not worry. Umm Atiyyah, the Prophet’s companion, said, ” During the Prophet’s time, we never used to pay attention to the pinkish or brownish discharges that followed the expiry of menses.”  (Reported by Imam Bukhari and others).

All the above, however, is conditional on the fact that your menses period did not exceed fifteen days. For bleeding after fifteen days cannot be reckoned as menses; rather it is reckoned as istihadhah (abnormal bleeding). In the case of istihadhah, you need to pray after having taken a full bath at the end of your period; then you wash your private and make wudhu before each prayer. Washing and wudhu should only be done immediately prior to each salah.

Almighty Allah Knows best.