• EN (English)
Fatwa ID: 77287
Title: When a woman has her menstrual period, she cannot pray & other questions
Category: Women
Scholar: Dr. Main Khalid Al-Qudah
Date: 12/29/2008
Question

Bismillah irRahmaan irRahim,

 

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, and may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon Muhammad (sallAllahu alaihi wa salam).

 

My questions are:

 

1. When a woman has her menstrual period, she cannot pray or read the Quran, but after it is over, does she have to make up all the prayers she has missed while she was menstruating? If yes, how? One week or more is a lot of prayer.

 

2. Can women touch and read books of hadith?

 

3. What kind of duaa, prayer or any good deed can a wife do for family members who have passed away so they don't have punishment in their grave?

 

4. I want to be the best Muslim I can be, but I don't understand the Quran except with the translation, and in the USA, there aren't many places for me to study the Arabic language, except for children. Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

5. Some of my friends ask me how I know that the Quran has remained the same message from thousands of years ago till now? I only can tell them: by knowing that every copy of the Quran I read in a different country and different language all have the same meaning. Is that the correct answer?

 

Thank you. Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

Answer

1 - All prayers missed during the menstrual period are not to be made up; they are waived.

 

2 - Reading Quran without touching the mus-haf is allowed during the period according to some scholars.

 

3 - Reading and touching the books of hadith is unanimously allowed.

 

4 - People can do any and all kinds of good deeds to benefit their deceased.

 

5 - You do not need to speak Arabic or even understand it to be a good Muslim! Islam is principles you apply, not a language you speak. There is extra reward in learning Arabic to better understand the Quran and the Sunnah in the original language. However, the minimum that is required of you is to memorize the Fatihah (the opening chapter of the Qur'an), some other short suwar (chapters), and certain adhkar (prescribed supplications) which must be recited for your prayers to be correct.

 

6 – The Quran has been inherited and authentically narrated from one generation to another by such a tremendous number of people that it would have been impossible for them to agree on changing one word, or even one letter.