Q:
1. To what extend can a married couple come close to each other and have little personal time when the wife is in her menstrual period?
2. How many days for the menstrual period to finish the cycle, if it differs what is the maximum days?
3. How do you count the menstrual period days?
A: 1. The entire area between the navel and the knee of the wife should be covered with a cloth. The husband can touch the other parts of the wife’s body while she is in the state of haidh.
2-3. The least period of haidh is three days and the maximum is 10 days. If a woman has a set cycle e.g. she generally bleeds for five days, then she should follow her cycle. If she bleeds for more than five days but within ten days, her cycle will change. However if she bleeds for more than five days and the blood exceeds ten days (e.g. twelve days), then her cycle will not change, instead it will remain five days and all the remaining days (i.e. after five days till twelve days) will be counted as istihaaza.
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
Answered by:
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Checked & Approved:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)