How does a woman count her haidh if she bleeds for 6 days has brown discharge for 3-4 days and then yellow discharge for about 5 days then turns white, after this the discharge is sometimes white and sometimes yellow till she bleeds again?and does it make any difference to the ruling if a woman knows when she ovulates?
Discharge that is red, yellow, brown, green or black in colour is considered as bleeding for haydh purposes. Discharge that is white is not considered as bleeding. The maximum period of haydh is ten days. The minimum period of cleanliness between two haydh cycles is fifteen days. The solution to the scenario presented in the question depends on whether the woman in question had an established habit of haydh bleeding, that is ten days or less, e.g. 6 days before the onset of the condition. In this case, if after she stops bleeding (red, black, green, yellow or brown discharge), she experiences a clean period of 15 days (no discharge or any colour other than those mentioned above), then only 6 days will be considered as haydh. The rest of the days will be considered as Istihaadha (even though discharge was flowing). Her next haydh will start immediately when she starts discharging after the 15 day clean period. If she has an established habit, e.g. 6 days but she does not experience a clean period of 15 days, then the first 6 days will be haydh. The following 15 days will be considered as the clean period (even though she is discharging). The following 6 days will be haydh again and this cycle will continue until she experiences a period of 15 days wherein she has no or only white discharge.
If she does not have an established habit (less than 10 days) and after she stops bleeding (red, yellow, black or green) she experiences a clean period of 15 days (white or no discharge), then her haydh will be for 10 days only. Her next haydh will commence when the bleeding resumes after the 15 day clean period.
Lastly, if she does not have an established habit (less than 10 days) and she also does not experience a clean period of 15 days (white or no discharge), then 10 days will be haydh, followed by a 15 day clean period (even though discharging) followed by 10 day haydh period. This cycle will continue until it is broken by a 15 day clean period (white or no discharge) in which case the haydh will only commence when bleeding resumes. Knowledge of ovulation patterns will not affect the above guidelines. (Sharhul wiqaayah vol.1 pg.115; Deoband)
and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai