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3. A woman with a habit of duration →
← 1. A woman with a habit of time and duration
2. A woman with a habit of time
Ruling 477. Women who have a habit of time and whose habit has a fixed start date are of two types:
1. a woman who on two consecutive months has her period at a fixed time and whose period stops after a few days but the number of days in each month is not the same. For example, on two consecutive months she experiences bleeding on the first of the month but in the first month the bleeding stops on the seventh, and in the second month the bleeding stops on the eighth. This woman must consider the first of the month to be the first day of her habit of ḥayḍ;
2. a woman who on two consecutive months has her period at a fixed time for three or more days, then her period stops, and then she experiences bleeding again, and all the days on which she experiences bleeding plus the days in between on which her bleeding stops do not exceed ten; but in the second month, this figure is more or less than the first month. For example, in the first month it is eight days and in the second month nine days, but in both months she experiences bleeding from the first of the month. Such a woman must also consider the first of the month to be the first day of her habit of ḥayḍ.
Ruling 478. If a woman with a habit of time experiences bleeding on the days of her habit or two or three days before her habit, she must act according to the rules mentioned for a ḥāʾiḍ as per the details in Ruling 470. In cases other than these two – for example, when a woman experiences bleeding so much in advance of her habit that it could not be said her habit has moved forward; rather, it would be said that she has experienced bleeding outside the days of her habit; or, she experiences bleeding after the days of her habit – then, in the event that the bleeding has the attributes of ḥayḍ, she must act according to the rules mentioned for a ḥāʾiḍ. Similarly, if it does not have the attributes of ḥayḍ but she knows that the bleeding will continue for three days [she must act according to the rules mentioned for a ḥāʾiḍ]. However, if she does not know whether it will continue for three days, the obligatory precaution is that she must do the things that are obligatory for a mustaḥāḍah and refrain from doing the things that are unlawful for a ḥāʾiḍ.
Ruling 479. If a woman with a habit of time experiences bleeding on the days of her habit and the number of days that her bleeding lasts for is more than ten, and if on some of the days her bleeding has the attributes of ḥayḍ and on some other days it does not, and if the number of days that her bleeding has the attributes of ḥayḍ is not less than three nor more than ten, then in such a case, she must consider her bleeding on those days when it has the attributes of ḥayḍ to be ḥayḍ and the rest to be istiḥāḍah. If this type of bleeding is repeated – for example, four days with the attributes of ḥayḍ, followed by four days with the attributes of istiḥāḍah, followed by four days with the attributes of ḥayḍ again – she must consider only the first four days to be ḥayḍ and all the rest to be istiḥāḍah. If the bleeding with the attributes of ḥayḍ lasts for less than three days, she must consider it to be ḥayḍ and determine the number of days of it in one of two ways: either by referring to her close relatives or by selecting the number of days. If it is more than ten days, she must consider part of it to be ḥayḍ by one of these two ways. If a woman cannot distinguish the amount of ḥayḍ by means of its attributes – i.e. she finds that all the blood has the same attributes, or the blood that has the attributes of ḥayḍ lasts for more than ten days or less than three days – then she must consider it to be ḥayḍ according to the number of days of the habit of some of her close relatives, whether they be her paternal or maternal relatives, alive or dead. However, in this case, two conditions must be fulfilled:
1. the woman does not know that her close relative’s habit is different to the duration of her ḥayḍ. For example, she is youthful and healthy and the other woman is approaching the age of menopause, when usually the duration of a woman’s habit is shorter. The same applies if the situation is the other way round or the woman has an incomplete habit, the meaning and rules of which will be mentioned in Ruling 488.
2. the woman does not know that the habit of the other woman differs from the habit of her other close relatives who meet the first condition. However, there is no problem if the difference is very little such that it cannot really be counted. The same rule applies to a woman who has a habit of time and does not experience bleeding at all on the days of her habit but experiences bleeding at other times which lasts for more than ten days, and she cannot distinguish the duration of ḥayḍ by means of its attributes.
Ruling 480. A woman with a habit of time cannot consider her bleeding to be ḥayḍ at times other than the time of her habit. Therefore, if the start of her habit is known – for example, she used to experience bleeding every month from the first of the month, and sometimes her bleeding would stop on the fifth day and at other times on the sixth – then, in the event that in one month she experiences bleeding for twelve days and she cannot determine her duration by means of the attributes of ḥayḍ, she must consider the first of the month to be the beginning of ḥayḍ. For the duration, she must refer to what was said in the previous ruling; and if the middle or end of her habit is known, then in the event that her bleeding exceeds ten days she must consider the duration to be such that the end or middle of it is in accordance with the time of her habit.
Ruling 481. A woman with a habit of time who experiences bleeding for more than ten days and cannot determine it according to what was said in Ruling 479 can choose any number of days from three to ten that she feels is appropriate for the duration of her ḥayḍ; and it is better that she consider it to be seven days if she feels it appropriate for herself. Of course, the number of days that she considers to be ḥayḍ must be in accordance with the time of her habit, as mentioned in the previous ruling.
3. A woman with a habit of duration →
← 1. A woman with a habit of time and duration
1. a woman who on two consecutive months has her period at a fixed time and whose period stops after a few days but the number of days in each month is not the same. For example, on two consecutive months she experiences bleeding on the first of the month but in the first month the bleeding stops on the seventh, and in the second month the bleeding stops on the eighth. This woman must consider the first of the month to be the first day of her habit of ḥayḍ;
2. a woman who on two consecutive months has her period at a fixed time for three or more days, then her period stops, and then she experiences bleeding again, and all the days on which she experiences bleeding plus the days in between on which her bleeding stops do not exceed ten; but in the second month, this figure is more or less than the first month. For example, in the first month it is eight days and in the second month nine days, but in both months she experiences bleeding from the first of the month. Such a woman must also consider the first of the month to be the first day of her habit of ḥayḍ.
Ruling 478. If a woman with a habit of time experiences bleeding on the days of her habit or two or three days before her habit, she must act according to the rules mentioned for a ḥāʾiḍ as per the details in Ruling 470. In cases other than these two – for example, when a woman experiences bleeding so much in advance of her habit that it could not be said her habit has moved forward; rather, it would be said that she has experienced bleeding outside the days of her habit; or, she experiences bleeding after the days of her habit – then, in the event that the bleeding has the attributes of ḥayḍ, she must act according to the rules mentioned for a ḥāʾiḍ. Similarly, if it does not have the attributes of ḥayḍ but she knows that the bleeding will continue for three days [she must act according to the rules mentioned for a ḥāʾiḍ]. However, if she does not know whether it will continue for three days, the obligatory precaution is that she must do the things that are obligatory for a mustaḥāḍah and refrain from doing the things that are unlawful for a ḥāʾiḍ.
Ruling 479. If a woman with a habit of time experiences bleeding on the days of her habit and the number of days that her bleeding lasts for is more than ten, and if on some of the days her bleeding has the attributes of ḥayḍ and on some other days it does not, and if the number of days that her bleeding has the attributes of ḥayḍ is not less than three nor more than ten, then in such a case, she must consider her bleeding on those days when it has the attributes of ḥayḍ to be ḥayḍ and the rest to be istiḥāḍah. If this type of bleeding is repeated – for example, four days with the attributes of ḥayḍ, followed by four days with the attributes of istiḥāḍah, followed by four days with the attributes of ḥayḍ again – she must consider only the first four days to be ḥayḍ and all the rest to be istiḥāḍah. If the bleeding with the attributes of ḥayḍ lasts for less than three days, she must consider it to be ḥayḍ and determine the number of days of it in one of two ways: either by referring to her close relatives or by selecting the number of days. If it is more than ten days, she must consider part of it to be ḥayḍ by one of these two ways. If a woman cannot distinguish the amount of ḥayḍ by means of its attributes – i.e. she finds that all the blood has the same attributes, or the blood that has the attributes of ḥayḍ lasts for more than ten days or less than three days – then she must consider it to be ḥayḍ according to the number of days of the habit of some of her close relatives, whether they be her paternal or maternal relatives, alive or dead. However, in this case, two conditions must be fulfilled:
1. the woman does not know that her close relative’s habit is different to the duration of her ḥayḍ. For example, she is youthful and healthy and the other woman is approaching the age of menopause, when usually the duration of a woman’s habit is shorter. The same applies if the situation is the other way round or the woman has an incomplete habit, the meaning and rules of which will be mentioned in Ruling 488.
2. the woman does not know that the habit of the other woman differs from the habit of her other close relatives who meet the first condition. However, there is no problem if the difference is very little such that it cannot really be counted. The same rule applies to a woman who has a habit of time and does not experience bleeding at all on the days of her habit but experiences bleeding at other times which lasts for more than ten days, and she cannot distinguish the duration of ḥayḍ by means of its attributes.
Ruling 480. A woman with a habit of time cannot consider her bleeding to be ḥayḍ at times other than the time of her habit. Therefore, if the start of her habit is known – for example, she used to experience bleeding every month from the first of the month, and sometimes her bleeding would stop on the fifth day and at other times on the sixth – then, in the event that in one month she experiences bleeding for twelve days and she cannot determine her duration by means of the attributes of ḥayḍ, she must consider the first of the month to be the beginning of ḥayḍ. For the duration, she must refer to what was said in the previous ruling; and if the middle or end of her habit is known, then in the event that her bleeding exceeds ten days she must consider the duration to be such that the end or middle of it is in accordance with the time of her habit.
Ruling 481. A woman with a habit of time who experiences bleeding for more than ten days and cannot determine it according to what was said in Ruling 479 can choose any number of days from three to ten that she feels is appropriate for the duration of her ḥayḍ; and it is better that she consider it to be seven days if she feels it appropriate for herself. Of course, the number of days that she considers to be ḥayḍ must be in accordance with the time of her habit, as mentioned in the previous ruling.