Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalaam Alaikum. I am going for hajj inshaAllah this year, and the date of hajj is probably somewhere around the 30th of December. My menstruation date would be around the same time. People tell me that I would need to take pills to avert my regular cycle, even though it would not affect my hajj ritual but that I would not be able to perform Tawaf-e-Ziarat and due to which I am told my hajj would not be complete. I am also told that tawaf cannot be performed without wudhu and obviously during menstruation I cannot perform wudhu, and hence the tawaf-e-ziarat. Logic tells me that this is a natural process and if i perform the rites during this course, it should not affect the completion of my hajj. I am also aware that sometimes the pills may not be able to avert the regular cycle, other than them causing hormonal issues also. Since the flight bookings are very rigid, how does one deal with this issue.

i have read the answer to question 2125. however we are all aware that HOW ABOLUTELY rigid the fligts are and we cannot make changes on our own that is wait until the periods are over. We have a very strict schedule by our imam and we HAVE to follow it and for us it means leaving exactly the day after hajj is completed which means that i might still not be clear of periods, infact i might be right in the middle of them or even start of them if my periods are delayed by a few days.

I would really appreciate your opinion.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Hajj and menstruation

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Dear and beloved Sister in Islam, without an iota of a doubt, the ‘tawaaf-ul-ifaadah’ or the tawaaf of Hajj is an absolutely obligatory rite of the Hajj pilgrimage; and if one does not perform this ‘tawaaf’ their Hajj rites would not be deemed complete.

Secondly, it is an absolute pre-condition that one should be pure and in wudu when performing a ‘tawaaf’ of the Sacred House.

A believing woman who is menstruating can perform every rite of Hajj, except do the ‘tawaaf’ of the Sacred House when in her state of ceremonial impurity; she must purify herself before she intends to do the ‘tawaaf’ of the Sacred House.

The absolute majority of the scholars and jurists in Islam are of the opinion that if a believing woman takes medication to avert or delay her menstrual cycle only so that she would be able to perform her Hajj rites along with her group, there is absolutely no harm in taking such medication.

If one is in an absolute state of emergency and has to leave Makkah for their destination, and the believing woman has not been able to do the ‘tawaaf-ul-ifaadah’ due to her menstruation, and there is just absolutely no other way or option for the sister to delay her return so that she may perform her ‘tawaaf’ when she becomes pure…..some scholars have opined that the menstruating woman may do her ‘tawaaf-ul-ifaadah’ in her menses, making sure that she has properly tied her private parts and no impurity has touched her clothes. We reiterate again that this allowance is only in extreme cases of emergency where one has tried their absolute best to delay their return, but found it almost impossible to do so. And Allah Alone Knows Best.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 286:

286 On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear.

If one has tried one’s absolute best to fulfill all the rites of Hajj to the best of their ability, and took every care and precaution to enable them to fulfill all the requirements of Hajj, and even after that one finds oneself in a situation where one of the obligatory rites of Hajj cannot be honored by them….then Allah Subhanah does not put a burden on anyone more than they can bear; for He indeed is The Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan