Question: I inserted an IUD (coil) a few months ago but keep having spotting. What is the ruling of this blood?
Answer:
Bismi Llahir Rahmanir Rahim
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatuLlahi wa barakatuhu
The blood you are seeing is either menstruation or abnormal bleeding (istihada).
If the bleeding falls into your habitual time of menstruation and all other conditions of menstruation are met, then it will be ruled as menses. Otherwise, it is istihada.
However, it is not possible to give a complete answer without knowing your menstrual and tuhr habits, in addition to the dates of when you saw the spotting.
A common mistake that women make is that they assume that spotting, light bleeding, or irregular bleeding cannot be ruled as menstruation. This is absolutely untrue. In the Hanafi madhhab, the rulings are not dependent upon the qualities or heaviness of the blood. There is no condition for menstrual bleeding to be continuous either. Rather, the rulings revolve around the habits.
On a personal note, I do not encourage women to use the coil. I have met many women over the years who experience very bad istihada issues after inserting the coil, which has caused their worship to become difficult. Periods becoming heavier, longer, and more painful are well-known side effects of the coil. I encourage women to try other alternatives of birth control that are less invasive, like natural methods, the pill, or condoms.
Please email us at help@muslimacoaching.com with your dates of bleeding for the past few months and we can try to give a more precise answer for your specific situation InshaAllah. Check out our courses on menstruation for more details about the general rulings too.
Jazak Allah khayran
Naielah Ackbarali