Question: If you see menstrual blood after Maghrib, and aren’t sure when it started, is your fast valid?
Answer:
Bismi Llahir Rahmanir Rahim
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatuLlahi wa barakatuhu
If menstruation occurs at any time during the fasting day – namely from the entrance of Fajr to the entrance of Maghrib – the fast is not valid. This is the ruling even if menstruation starts one minute before Maghrib enters.
As for the question at hand, there are two possible scenarios.
First Scenario – Unsure When Blood Exited
If you honestly do not know when the bloody discharge exited, then the principle is that menstruation starts when you actually see the blood.
For example, Aisha is fasting during Ramadan. Maghrib enters at 6 pm. She goes to the bathroom at 6:15 pm and sees blood on her pantyliner. She does not know when the bleeding exited. In this case, she assumes that the blood exited when she saw it at 6:15 pm. Therefore, her fast is valid because her menstruation started after Maghrib.
Second Scenario – Reasonably Sure When It Exited
However, if she feels the wetness exit her vagina before she uses the bathroom, and she is reasonably certain that it is menstrual blood, then she should consider that her menses started when she felt the wetness.
For example, Hina is fasting during Ramadan. Maghrib enters at 6 pm. She is expecting her period to start soon. At 5:50 pm, she feels discharge exit her vagina. She does not make it to the bathroom until 6:15 pm. She sees blood on her pantyliner, and knowing her body, she is reasonably sure that the bleeding exited when she felt it at 5:50 pm. Thus, her menstruation started at 5:50 PM and her fast is invalid. She must make it up after Ramadan finishes in a time when she is not menstruating.
For more details about the rulings of menstruation related to Ramadan, please refer to this article: Menstruation Rulings Related To Ramadan.
Jazak Allah khayran
Naielah Ackbarali
References:
- Imam ibn Abidin, Manhal al-Waridin