Islamic Laws of Lochia

ISLAMIC LAWS OF LOCHIA

Haggai Mazuz

Abstract

The question of the Islamic laws pertaining to women who experience lochia has been largely overlooked in the research literature. Even scholars who treat the issue do so in a very general way and thus overlook nuances in the Islamic juridical discussion of the topic and the insights that one may derive from it. This article aims to fill the lacuna that beset this subject by presenting the three main juridical discussions that concern the topic and offering an insight adduced from this presentation and its analysis. Keywords: nafsā᾿, lochia, akthar al-nifās, aqall al-nifās, menstruant, musthāda

Introduction on only a few Islamic sources, he was not aware of the alternative views. Although a number of contributions on the menstrual 1 The next academic treatment of this issue came nearly laws in Islam have been published recently, several seventy years after Wensinck’s aforementioned article. issues related to the subject have yet to receive appropri- Hava Lazarus-Yafeh, who apparently was exposed to ᾿ ate treatment. The laws pertaining to nafsā —women more primary sources than Wensinck regarding the post- who have lochia (postpartum bleeding and discharge)— natality laws, reports the term of postpartum impurity as are one case in point. ranging from one minute to forty days or, according to So far as I have been able to ascertain, the first scholar some authorities, sixty days. The duration depends on who addressed this issue was Arent Jan Wensinck, who the flow of her blood, with no distinction made for the in 1914 published an article that dealt with the origins of newborn’s gender (unlike in Leviticus 12:2–5) and no Islamic purity laws. Wensinck, however, dedicated only internal division of the term (the first two weeks after ᾿ a few terse lines to the nafsā : “The longest time during parturition and the rest).3 which a woman is unable to attend worship is after child- To the best of my knowledge, no scholar since birth, namely on average forty days. This is exactly the Lazarus-Yafeh has taken up this issue at considerable number of days prescribed for a Jewish woman who 2 length. In addition, there is no entry for nifās in either gave birth to a boy.” Wensinck’s remarks are somewhat the first or the second edition of the Encyclopedia of vague because, according to Jewish law, a woman who Islam, in which the term is mentioned only three times gives birth is not barred from performing various religious in entries such as hayd,4 ghusl,5 and tahāra6 and even practices. then very briefly and almost en passant. Subsequently, Wensinck based this conclusion on one legal source, G.H. Bousquet, for example, summarized this subject in al-Nawawī’s Minhāj al-Tālibīn, and three hadīth collec- a few lines: “The regulations concerning the nifās (lochia) ᾿ ᾿ tions: al-Sunan al-Kubrā of al-Nasā ī, Sunan Abī Dā ūd, are almost the same as those concerning menstruation: and Sunan al-Dārimī. In fact, Islamic legal sources thus the ghusl of the woman who has given birth takes express additional opinions about how long a woman place when there is no more discharge, the fixed interval after giving birth is considered impure and discuss the of forty days (Leviticus, Zend-Avesta) being unknown, subject widely. It is possible that since Wensinck relied at least in theory.” Bousquet concludes in a way that demonstrates how the question of the juridical discussions has been overlooked: “The casuistical differences 1 See Mazuz, 2012; Mazuz, 2014; Mazuz, 2015; Mazuz, forthcoming. 2 “Am längsten dauert die Unfähigkeit zur Teilnahme am Kultus 3 Lazarus-Yafeh, 1982:216. bei der Wöchnerin nl. durchschnittlich vierzig Tage. Das ist gerade die 4 Bousquet, 1971:3:315. Anzahl Tage, welche für die jüdische Frau festgesetzt war, welche 5 Bousquet, 1965:2:1104. cinen Knaben geboren hatte.” See Wensinck, 1914:75. 6 reinhart, 2000:10:99.

Journal Asiatique 303.2 (2015): 239-246 doi: 10.2143/JA.303.2.3120206

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between the various schools on this subject may be omit- In a variant of this hadīth, in which the woman is ted here.”7 identified as ῾Ā᾿isha, we read that she was sleeping with In general, one may state that while scholars have Muhammad in bed and suddenly jumped out. Muham- written profusely about Islamic jurisprudence and its mad asked her: “Did your period begin? ῾Ā᾿isha principles, few works deal probingly and thoroughly responded: Yes. In return, he said to her: Put on your with the challenging issue of the Islamic legal discourse izār (a large sheet-like robe that is worn both as a mantle and the thrust and parry of Islamic jurisprudence. This and as a long loin cloth or waist cloth) and come back to explains the lack of treatment of the issues discussed bed.”11 below. In the second hadīth, Islamic sources report several To date, then, no scholar has attempted to develop the different versions of an incident with ῾Ā᾿isha or with subject or study it further. A comprehensive review of Umm Salama, depending on the version, when she made Sunnī legal sources and the hadīth literature demon- the pilgrimage. According to some hadīths, ῾Ā᾿isha strates that the topics surrounding women after childbirth narrated that she became menstruant while performing are divided into three main discussions. In this article, I the pilgrimage. Muhammad asked her, “What happened examine these matters and present some points that have to you? Have you started menstruating (a-nafisti)?” She not appeared in the research literature thus far. replied, “Yes.” Muhammad then told her, “This is a thing that Allāh sentenced [literally: wrote] on women [for eter- ᾿ ῾ 12 1. The Analogy between Women’s Menstrual and nity]” (hādhā shay katabahu Allāh alā banāt Ādam). Postpartum Statuses Ibn Rajab, however, cited a hadīth in the name of Ibn Hanbal that appears to reject the analogy between lochia Bousquet and Lazarus-Yafeh argued that the laws of and menstrual blood. According to this hadīth, on one nifās and menstrual blood are similar but neither dis- of her nights with Muhammad, Umm Salama suddenly cussed why.8 There is a consensus among Muslim jurists started menstruating. Muhammad asked her, “What hap- that the laws pertaining to women experiencing lochia pened to you? a-nafisti?” She said, “No, but I became are identical to those concerning menstruants. According menstruant (hidtu)”. Muhammad told her, “Put on the izār to Ibn Farah, the connection is adduced from an analogy and return to bed.” Ibn Rajab adds that this hadīth is odd drawn from hadīths, according to which, when Muḥam- and thus is rejected by the Muslim sages.13 mad asked ῾Ā᾿isha bt. Abī Bakr and Umm Salama in two Since the Islamic religious authorities accepted the different cases whether they had become menstruants, he analogy of menstrual blood and lochia, as long as wom- used the root n.f.s., which denotes blood (nafs), and they an’s lochia persists—a subject to be discussed in great responded in the affirmative. Therefore, Ibn Farah claims, detail in the next sections—she may not pray, fast, circle the same laws apply to both types of blood discharge.9 the Ka῾ba, enter a mosque, read and touch the Qur᾿ān, Two hadīths were narrated by both ῾Ā᾿isha and Umm and have intercourse with her husband.14 Salama in this regard, one about their having gone to sleep one night and the other when they made the pil- 1.1. Menstrual Blood and Lochia —Different After All grimage. Although the jurists did not specify the hadīths on the basis of which they made their ruling, the first Although the legal status of menstrual blood and hadīth was probably the following: On one of her nights lochia is identical, the statuses of women who experience with Muhammad, Umm Salama suddenly started men- these forms of bleeding are different in three ways: struating. Immediately, she jumped out of bed, appar- (1) the onset of menses indicates that a girl has become ently thinking that she might have made Muhammad an adult who now must fulfill the precepts of the faith ritually impure. Muhammad asked her, “What happened (mukallifa); the lochia does not have this effect. This to you? Have you started menstruating (a-nafisti)?” She difference is theoretical because the latter event cannot replied, “Yes.” Then Muhammad summoned her back to their bed.10 11 Mālik, 1999:72-73. 12 al-Bukhārī, 1950:1:81. For the version that identifies her as Umm Salama, see Ibn Rajab, 1996:2:13. 7 Bousquet, 1971:3:315. 13 Ibn Rajab, 1996:2:26. 8 Bousquet, 1965:2:1104; Lazarus-Yafeh, 1982:216. 14 See e.g., al-Māwardī, 1994:1:534; al-Qurtubī, 1965:3:84. Since 9 Ibn Farah, 1997:1:432. Cf. Ibn Hajar al-῾Asqalānī, 1959:1:402. Muslim jurists assume that the laws relating to women in a condition 10 for sources of this tradition, see al-San῾ānī, 2000:1:248 (hadīth of lochia and to menstrual blood are the same, Islamic legal sources no. 1237); al-Bukhārī, 1950:1:82; al-Qushayrī, 1955:1:243 (book barely address the matter of lochia. For example, al-῾Aynī argues that [kitāb] no. 3: section [bāb] no. 2: hadīth no. 5); al-Nasā᾿ī, 1930:1:178 one learns the injunction against a postpartum woman’s reading the (section [bāb] no. 158: hadīth no. 271); Ibn Māja, 1952:1:209; Qur᾿ān from the prohibition applying to menstruants. See al-῾Aynī, al-Dārimī, 1966:195 (section [bāb] no. 106: hadīth no. 1050-1051). 1990:1:634.

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precede the former. (2) Lochia is differentiated from the time, the prohibitions (apparently against religious prac- three menstrual cycles that a divorced woman or widow tices) are abolished. Al-Dāraqutnī claimed that the first counts before she may remarry (῾idda).15 (3) The minimal narrator in the chain, Salām (also known as “Salām the (aqall) and maximal (akthar) period of menses is differ- Tall”), weakens the tradition.23 Al-Nasā᾿ī described ent than that of lochia.16 Salām as someone who should not be heeded by those who are knowledgeable in the tradition. Some even 2. Maximum Duration of Postpartum Bleeding call Salām a liar, rendering traditions narrated by him unreliable.24 Even though the aforementioned hadīth has The discussion of maximum duration of postpartum an additional chain of narrators,25 al-Nawawī considers it bleeding (akthar al-nifās) in Islamic juridical sources is altogether weak.26 nebulous. There was an apparent disagreement that pitted Abū Hurayra and Abū al-Darā᾿ narrated a hadīth sim- the sahāba against a group of the tābi῾ūn. The sahāba ilar to that reported by Anas b. Mālik. Al-Nawawī dis- concluded by consensus that the akthar al-nifās lasts misses it, too, as weak, because one of its narrators, forty days.17 The list of sahāba who so ruled includes al-῾Alā᾿ b. Kathīr, was a client (mawlā) of the Umayyads Abū Hurayra, Abū al-Darā᾿, Mu῾ādh b. Jabal,18῾Umar b. and was deemed unreliable,27 apparently because the al-Khattāb, ῾Alī b. Abī Tālib, ῾Abd Allāh b. ῾Abbās, Umayyads were deficient in fear of heaven. A similar Anas b. Mālik, ῾Uthmān b. Abī al-῾Ās, and ῾Ā᾿id b. hadīth, also narrated by ῾Abd Allāh b. ῾Umar, adds that, ῾Amr. In addition, two of Muhammad’s widows, ῾Ā᾿isha, by word of Muhammad, if forty days pass and the woman and Umm Salama, argued identically. The sahāba were continues to bleed, she becomes one who has an issue followed by some tābi῾ūn and early jurists such as Sufyān (musthāda). In such a case, Muhammad continued al-Thawrī, Ibn al-Mubārak, al-Layth, Abū ῾Ubayd, Ishāq, according to Ibn ῾Umar, she should perform ghusl and al-Awzā῾ī and al-Muzanī.19 Their opponents, also from may then pray; if blood remains on her, she should per- among the tābi῾ūn, were ῾Atā᾿ b. Abī Rabāh, al-Sha῾bī, form wudū᾿. Here too, al-Dāraqutnī finds a weak link: al-῾Anbarī and al-Hajjāj b. Artāh, who argued that akthar ῾Amr b. al-Husayn and Muhammad b. ῾Alātha weaken al-nifās is sixty days.20 this hadīth evidently on grounds of unreliability; there- Study of juridical sources and hadīth collections fore, he claims, those knowledgeable in the tradition demonstrates that the reliability of many hadīths narrated should pay them no heed.28 by the aforementioned sahāba, setting the akthar al-nifās In another hadīth, ῾Ā᾿id b. ῾Amr recounted that his at forty days, were attacked, mainly by al-Dāraqutnī and wife stopped bleeding twenty days after she gave birth, al-Nawawī, who argued that there is a weak link in these performed ghusl, and came to his bed. He asked her, hadīths. However, as we shall see, al-Dāraqutnī also “What is your wish?” She replied, “I became pure.” acknowledged the reliability of two traditions that set In response, ῾Ā᾿id kicked her, indicating that she must akthar al-nifās at forty days. If so, the entire debate sur- not approach him until forty nights pass (hereinafter: rounding this issue is theoretical only. ῾Ā᾿id b. ῾Amr’s hadīth).29 Al-Dāraqutnī deems this hadīth In one hadīth, ῾Uthmān b. Abī al-῾Ās narrated that he unreliable because one of its narrators is al-Jallād b. heard Muhammad say that the length of time that women Ayyūb, whom those knowledgeable in the tradition deem “see blood” after birth is forty days (hereinafter: ῾Uthmān untrustworthy since he is a liar.30 b. Abī al-῾Ās’s first hadīth). According to al-Dāraqutnī There are three versions of a hadīth in which ῾Ā᾿isha Abū Bilāl al-Ash῾arī, one of the hadīth narrators is unre- reports the duration of akthar al-nifās at forty days. liable.21 Al-Nawawī claims that the penultimate narrator, According to one of them, ῾Ā᾿isha said that Muhammad Hasan, never heard the hadīth from ῾Uthmān b. Abī instructed any woman who bleeds after childbirth for al-῾Ās; this weakens the validity of the saying.22 more than forty days to perform ghusl, after which she is According to yet another hadīth, Anas b. Mālik heard considered pure and may engage in religious practices. Muhammad say that women bleed for forty days after Then she should also perform wudū᾿ before every prayer giving birth but if the bleeding ceases at some earlier (hereinafter: ῾Ā᾿isha’s first hadīth). Hence, she ceases to

15 Cf. Ibn Rajab, 1996:2:25. 23 al-Dāraqutnī, 1993:1:220 (66). 16 Cf. al-Māwardī, 1994:1:535. 24 Ibn al-Jawzī, 1994:1:270. 17 Ibn Taymiyya, 1994:1:517. Cf. al-Bahūtī, 1968:1:218. 25 See Ibn Farah, 1997:1:431. 18 al-Nawawī, 1997:1:241. 26 al-Nawawī, 1997:1:242 (647). 19 Ibn Rajab, 1996:2:189. 27 al-Nawawī, 1997:1:241 (642). 20 al-Shīrāzī, 1955:45. 28 al-Dāraqutnī, 1993:1:221 (72); Ibn al-Jawzī, 1994:1:270. 21 al-Dāraqutnī, 1993:1:220 (70). Cf. Ibn al-Jawzī, 1994:1:270. 29 al-Dāraqutnī, 1993:1:221 (73). 22 al-Nawawī, 1997:1:241 (645). 30 al-Nawawī, 1997:1:234.

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have a status akin to that of a menstruant, who cannot me for forty days unless you stop seeing blood before” engage in religious practices, and becomes musthāda. (hereinafter: ῾Uthmān b. Abī al-῾Ās’s second hadīth).35 According to Yahyā b. Ma῾īn, the entire chain of narra- Al-Dāraqutnī, who, as we have seen, attacked a tradition tors in this version is weak, but he does not explain in the name of ῾Uthmān b. Abī al-῾Ās that had similar why.31 content, deemed this tradition reliable because it was also In the second version, Ibn Abī Malīka asked ῾Ā᾿isha reported by ῾Umar b. al-Khattāb, Ibn ῾Abbās, and Anas about a woman who gives birth (the question does appear b. Mālik.36 in the text) and ῾Ā᾿isha replied that Muhammad, when In yet another hadīth, it is told that ῾Uthmān b. Abī asked about it, ordered the woman to desist from reli- al-῾Ās’s wife stopped bleeding less than forty days after gious practices for forty nights. ῾Ā᾿isha adds, “After- parturition. Therefore, she beautified herself and wards, she must perform ghusl and then purify herself approached him, in response to which he said, “Do you [i.e., perform wudū᾿] and then she may pray” (hereinaf- not know that Allāh’s messenger ordered us to keep dis- ter: ῾Ā᾿isha’s second hadīth).32 According to al-Dāraqutnī, tance from women [after birthgiving] for forty days?” this tradition is unreliable because ῾Atā᾿ b. ῾Ajlān, one of (hereinafter: ῾Uthmān b. Abī al-῾Ās’s third hadīth).37 its narrators is considered unreliable.33 Al-Dāraqutnī finds this tradition, too, reliable because In the third version, ῾Ā᾿isha reports that Muhammad one of its narrators is ῾Umar b. Hārūn al-Balkhī.38 Con- specified the duration of postpartum bleeding as forty sequently, al-Dāraqutnī takes issue not with the opinion days (hereinafter: ῾Ā᾿isha’s third hadīth). According to that akthar al-nifās is forty days but with the strength Yahyā b. Ma῾īn, Yahyā b. al-῾Alā᾿, known as Abū ῾Amr of some of the traditions (most of which forbid post- (or, as some say, as Abū Maslama al-Rāzī) is the weak natal women to resume religious practices if their lochia link in this tradition because he is suspected as a fabrica- ceases less than forty days after parturition). Another tor of traditions, rendering this hadīth unreliable.34 expression of his emphasis on the chain of narrators is The following chart sums up the arguments against his acknowledgment of ῾Uthmān b. Abī al-῾Ās’s second the problematic link in the chain of the above-mentioned and third hadīths as reliable, even though they are mutu- traditions. ally contradictory, and the rejection of ῾Ā᾿id b. ῾Amr’s hadīth, which is consistent with ῾Uthmān b. Abī al-῾Ās’s Narrator Problematic link Argument against third hadīth—all based on the strength of the chain of in the chain the problematic narrators. link in the chain ῾Ā᾿id b. ῾Amr’s hadīth and ῾Uthmān b. Abī al-῾Ās’s ῾Uthmān b. Abī Abū Bilāl Unreliable third hadīth seem to suggest that there is no aqall al-῾Ās al-Ash῾arī al-nifās—a subject discussed below—for intercourse. By Anas b. Mālik Salām the tall Liar implication, aqall al-nifās pertains only to religious prac- Abū Hurayra and al-῾Alā᾿ b. Kathīr A client of the tices. It also suggests that the sahāba (and not just they) Abū al-Darā᾿ Umayyads considered lochia more defiling than menstrual blood, ῾Abd Allāh b. ῾Amr b. al-Husayn ------since they avoided sleeping and having intercourse with ῾Umar and Muhammad b. their wives for forty days after childbirth. ῾Alātha The basis on which the tābi῾ūn set the length of the akthar al-nifās at sixty days is not mentioned in the legal ῾Ā᾿id b. ῾Amr al-Jallād b. Ayyūb Liar sources and, as we have seen, there is no tradition that ῾ ᾿ Ā isha (1) The entire chain of Weak supports the opinion that akthar al-nifās is sixty days. narrators In fact, every woman whose nifās exceeds forty days ῾Ā᾿isha (2) ῾Atā᾿ b. ῾Ajlān Unreliable acquires a new legal status—musthāda. ῾Ā᾿isha (3) Yahyā b. al-῾Alā᾿ Fabricating traditions 2.1. The Discussion in the Major Schools In addition to the aforementioned traditions, other The heads of the major schools disagreed about the accounts set the duration of akthar al-nifās at forty days. duration of akthar al-nifās. Abū Hanīfa followed the According to one of them, ῾Uthmān b. Abī al-῾Ās told opinion of the sahāba. He relied on a hadīth that states, his wives, “When one of you gives birth, do not approach in the name of Umm Salama, that during Muhammad’s

31 Ibn Farah, 1997:1:430. See especially n. 6. 35 Ibn Farah, 1997:1:428. 32 Ibn Farah, 1997:1:431. 36 al-Dāraqutnī, 1993:1:220 (69). 33 al-Dāraqutnī, 1993:1:220 (71), 223-224 (89). 37 Ibn Farah, 1997:1:427-428. 34 Ibn Farah, 1997:1:430. See especially n. 7. 38 al-Dāraqutnī, 1993:1:220 (68).

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lifetime postnatal women were enjoined against reli- nights.51 According to al-Layth, one of the sages whose gious practices for forty days.39 Additional Hanafī sages name was not mentioned in the text, advocated seventy accepted this opinion.40 So did the Hanbalīs,41 citing days. Rabī῾a posited three months. According to one in support the various traditions narrated by the sahāba opinion, there is no limit at all.52 Hasan al-Basrī’s opin- and Muhammad’s wives, mentioned in the previous ion is unclear. Al-Thirmidhī claimed that Hasan al-Basrī sub-section.42 had set akthar al-nifās at fifty days;53 Yūnus argued that Unlike the Hanafī and Hanbalī jurists, Mālik and Hasan al-Basrī expressed his view as forty or fifty days al-Shāfi῾ī initially followed those among the tābi῾ūn who or forty to fifty days.54 The basis for these arguments set the akthar al-nifās at sixty days.43 Eventually, how- does not appear in Islamic texts. ever, they recanted and so did the jurists in their schools. ῾ Some sources suggest that al-Shāfi ī himself ruled that 2.3. An Attempt at Interfaith Assimilation? akthar al-nifās is forty days.44 How can this be reconciled with the sources that attribute the sixty-day view to him? In addition to all these opinions, two more deserve One possible way is to argue that the divergent views mention. Makhūl, Sa῾īd b. ῾Abd al-῾Azīz, and al-Awzā῾ī, are his early (qadīm) and new (jadīd) opinions, although referencing an opinion from Islamic authorities in Damas- the texts do not substantiate this. Shāfi῾ī sources present cus, stated that the akthar al-nifās lasts thirty days if a the opinion that although akthar al-nifās is sixty days, it woman gives birth to a male (ghulām) and forty days if the usually lasts only forty days.45 Therefore, al-Shāfi῾ī may newborn is female (jāriya). According to al-Khashanī, have chosen the extreme option, perhaps at the theoreti- al-Awzā῾ī advocated the same gender differentiation but cal level only and without support,46 to cover all possible at thirty-five days and forty days, respectively.55 cases no matter how unusual,47 although he knew that the As far as I am able to ascertain, these are the only norm is forty days. opinions in Islamic sources that discriminate between Mālik, too, recanted and ordered his students to check males and females, as the Torah does. Lev. 12:2-5 states: among postnatal women how long akthar al-nifās lasts. 48 […] If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man Eventually, he argued that it is forty days. The Mālikī child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to 49 jurists also changed their minds. If so, there was no dis- the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be agreement among the schools regarding akthar al-nifās; unclean. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin al-Shāfi῾ī may have been dealing with unusual cases. shall be circumcised. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, 2.2. Further Opinions until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. But if she bear Lazarus-Yafeh argued that the term of postpartum a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her impurity ranges from one minute to forty days or, accord- purifying threescore and six days.56 ing to some authorities, sixty days.50 Apparently, she overlooked further opinions that appeared in Islamic An additional commonality between the foregoing legal sources. In addition to the opinions presented above, Islamic opinions and Leviticus is that the birth of a some early jurists offered views of their own. Al-Dahhāk, female defiles longer than that of a male does. One may for example, argued that akthar al-nifās lasts fourteen consider these views an attempt to assimilate to the Jew- ish laws in this regard. Yet Islamic law is stricter than the Jewish counterpart, since in Jewish law, a woman is 39 Ibn Farah, 1997:1:425. impure for seven days if she delivers a boy and fourteen 40 E.g., Ibn al-Humām, 1897:1:131; al-Marghīnānī, 2000:1:249; days in the case of a girl. Bleeding during the subsequent al-Kāsānī, 1998:1:158; Ibn Nujaym, 2002:1:138. 41 Ibn Qudāma, 2001:1:144. thirty-three or sixty-six days, depending on the new- 42 E.g., Ibn Taymiyya, 1994:1:516; al-Bahūtī, 1968:1:218. born’s gender, is called “purity-blood” (demei tahara) 43 Ibn al-Jawzī, 1994:1:268. Cf. the following Mālikī and Shāfi῾ī i.e., blood that does not defile and does not rule out inter- jurists: al-Qurtubī, 1965:3:84; Ibn Rushd, 1950:41; al-Jundī al-Kalbī, course (Lev. 12:2–5). In Islamic law, however, even if 2003:545; Ibn Juzzī al-Kalbī, 1970:40; al-Nawawī, 1992:1:283; al-Isfahānī, 2006:10; al-Shīrāzī, 1955:45; Ibn Farah, 1997:1:425. 44 al-Nawawī, 1992:1:283. Cf. al-Qurtubī, 1965:3:84. 45 E.g., al-Nawawī, 1992:1:283; al-Isfahānī, 2006:10. 51 Ibn Rajab, 1996:2:189. 46 Cf. al-Kāsānī, 1998:1:158. 52 Ibn Rajab, 1996:2:189. 47 Cf. al-Awzā῾ī’s report to the effect that women in Damascus saw 53 Ibn Rajab, 1996:2:188. blood after birth for sixty days. See al-Shīrāzī, 1955:45. 54 al-San῾ānī, 2000:1:242 (hadīth no. 1203). 48 al-Tanukhī, 1905:1:53. 55 Ibn Rajab, 1996:2:189. 49 Ibn Rushd, 1950:41. 56 Translation taken from The King James Version of the English 50 Lazarus-Yafeh, 1982:216. Bible, 1941.

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the bleeding stops before the passage of forty days, a 3.1. Al-Shāfi῾ī’s Opinion on the Aqall al-Nifās woman is allowed to engage in religious practices but not in intercourse.57 Islamic sources offer several opinions about the aqall al-nifās that they ascribe to al-Shāfi῾ī. According to Abū Thawr, al-Shāfi῾ī set this minimum period at one hour.64 3. Minimum Duration of Postpartum Bleeding Abū Thawr’s opinion was accepted by most Shāfi῾ī jurists in Baghdād. Al-Māwardī argued that al-Shāfi῾ī did not Muslim jurists disagreed not only about the akthar 65 al-nifās, the maximum length of the lochia, but also treat the issue of aqall al-nifās at all. The Mālikī jurist ῾ about the aqall al-nifās, the minimum. In one hadīth, al- Aynī, who was familiar with Abū Thawr’s words, ῾ Mu῾ādh b. Jabal narrated that he heard Muhammad claims that al-Shāfi ī argued against any time limit saying that a postnatal woman sees blood for at least two whatsoever (lā hadd lahu), i.e., no estimated duration of 66 ῾ weeks (and no longer than forty days). This hadīth was aqall al-nifās. The Shāfi ī jurists in Basra accepted this 67 ῾ weakened since one of its narrators, Muhammad b. Sa῾īd opinion. The Shāfi ī jurist al-Baghawī maintains that ῾ 68 al-Shāmī, was considered unworthy as a source of tra al-Shāfi ī really set aqall al-nifās at one moment (lahẓa). ditions because he had been executed and hanged for The following chart sums up the arguments regarding ῾ heresy (qutila wa-suliba fī᾿l-zandaqa). Therefore, one the opinions ascribed to al-Shāfi ī about the aqall al-nifās. 58 cannot rely on his words. Jurist Opinion ascribed Notes Al-Muzanī argued that the aqall al-nifās is four days to al-Shāfi῾ī long, four times longer than the aqall al-hayd (ka-aqall Abū Thawr One hour Accepted by most Shāfi῾ī al-hayd arba῾ marrāt).59 Abū Yūsuf, a Hanafī jurist, took jurists in Baghdād an even stricter approach, setting the aqall al-nifās at eleven days, explaining that it must be longer than akthar al-Māwardī No treatment of ------al-hayd,60 which, according to the Hanafīs, is ten days. the subject Both authorities evidently thought that the ratio of the al-῾Aynī No estimation Accepted by the Shāfi῾ī aqall al-nifās to the aqall al-hayd should be roughly four jurists in Basra to one. (According to the Hanafī jurists, the aqall al-hayd al-Baghawī One moment ------is three days.) Their wording suggests that they viewed postpartum bleeding as a source of greater (and longer) Thus far, we have seen four opinions ascribed to impurity than menstruation. al-Shāfi῾ī about the length of the aqall al-nifās. If he Another hadīth states, “In the lifetime of Allāh’s mes- indeed treated this issue, by which the number of opinions senger there was one woman who gave birth and did not would fall to three, one may suggest that one of these see blood afterward. Therefore she was called the ‘pos- views is his qadīm and another is his jadīd. Yet this sessor of dryness’ (dhāt al-jifāf)”.61 This hadīth suggests leaves one “extra” opinion. that birthgiving need not be followed by bleeding and the In the discussion regarding the akthar al-nifās, the aqall al-nifās cannot be estimated. Many of the tābi῾ūn jurists tried to delimit the maximum period that a woman subscribed to this view,62 as well as many heads of may be deemed to bleed after giving birth. Here, they schools and generations of jurists.63 tried to do the opposite. Therefore, lā hadd is actually no more than one moment and even less, since the time 57 Based on sections 3 and 3.1, one may argue, however, that ranges trend down (aqall) and not up (akhtar). Hence, if Islamic law is more lenient than Jewish law because the opinion accepted al-Shāfi῾ī raised the issue of the aqall al-nifās, he had regarding aqall al-nifās is that it need not be estimated, whereas two opinions only, which may be explained as his qadīm al-Shāfi῾ī argued that it varies from one moment to one hour. This and jadīd. What one can say for sure is that according to opinion, however, is theoretical only. Even if we accept it as realistic, ῾ even bleeding that ceases before the passage of forty days, according al-Shāfi ī aqall al-nifās lasts from one moment to one to the sahāba, does not permit intercourse beforehand (see below). hour. Since this range of times is so short, the question 58 Ibn Farah, 1997:1:430. See especially n. 2. of the aqall al-nifās has no practical legal significance. 59 al-῾Aynī, 1990:1:695; al-Nawawī, 1992:1:283. For the discus- Theoretically, a woman who just gave birth may perform sion on aqall al-hayd and akthar al-hayd, see Mazuz, forthcoming, religious practices without missing even one prayer at its Chapter 5. 60 al-῾Aynī, 1990:1:696; al-Nawawī, 1992:1:283. Cf. al-Shaybānī, prescribed time. 1966:1:515; al-Māwardī, 1994:1:535; Ibn Rushd, 1950:41. 61 al-Māwardī, 1994:1:535; al-Shīrāzī, 1955:45; Ibn Taymiyya, 1994:1:520. 64 al-῾Aynī, 1990:1:695. 62 Ibn Rajab, 1996:2:187; al-῾Aynī, 1990:1:695. 65 al-Māwardī, 1994:1:535. 63 E.g., al-Nawawī, 1992:1:283; al-Isfahānī, 2006:10; Ibn Qudāma, 66 al-῾Aynī, 1990:1:695. 2001:1:145; Ibn Rajab, 1996:2:187; Ibn Rushd, 1950:41; Ibn Juzzī 67 al-Māwardī, 1994:1:535. al-Kalbī, 1970:40; al-Marghīnānī, 2000:1:249. 68 al-Baghawī, 1983:2:136.

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Conclusion with a musthāda.73 If so, the ranking from top to bottom is nafsā᾿, hā᾿id, and musthāda. Reading this article, one sees that Lazarus-Yafeh—the Delving into juridical discussions and understanding last scholar to have dealt at length with the topic of them are essential for research. Only thus may one actually Islamic law relating to women experiencing lochia— make the most of the juridical discussion, its progression, actually reports the common and accepted opinions in and what it has to say. As we have seen, the absence of Islamic law regarding akthar al-nifās without addressing such an inquiry or a superficial reading of the texts causes herself to the juridical discussion that so occupies the even prominent scholars in the field to overlook legal Muslim jurists. What is more, she (unintentionally) over- argumentation and make inaccurate statements. looks other opinions such as those mentioned in sections 2.2 and 2.3. Her remarks on aqall al-nifās seem to be inaccurate. The minimum duration that she mentions, Bibliography one minute, does not seem to appear in the juridical Primary Sources sources. As we have seen, some jurists refrained from al-῾Aynī, Abū Muhammad Mahmūd b. Ahmad, 1990. al-Bināya estimating the aqall al-nifās while others set it between fī Sharh al-Hidāya, 10 vols. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr. one moment and one hour. In addition, the discussion al-Baghawī, Abū Muhammad al-Husayn b. Mas῾ūd, 1983. presented in Section 2 may imply that the aqall al-nifās Sharh al-Sunna, 16 vols. Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islāmī. applies only to religious practices but not to intercourse. al-Bahūtī, Mansūr b. Yūnus, 1968. Kashshāf al-Qinā῾ ῾an Matn In addition, Lazarus-Yafeh makes several statements al-Iqnā῾, 6 vols. Riyād: Maktabat al-Nasr al-Hadītha. in regard to the laws of birthgiving women that, accord- al-Bukhārī, Muhammad b. Ismā῾īl, 1950. Sahīh al-Bukhārī, ing to the findings of this article, should be reevaluated 3 vols. Cairo: Dār wa-Matābi῾ al-Sha῾b. in three senses. First, she claims that the laws pertaining al-Dāraqutnī, ῾Alī b. ῾Umar, 1993. Sunan al-Dāraqutnī, 2 vols. to birthgiving women are more lenient in Islam than in Beirut: Dār Ihyā᾿ al-Turāth al-῾Arabī. ῾ ῾ Judaism but does not specify what these laws are.69 This al-Dārimī, Abd Allāh b. Abd al-Rahmān, 1966. Sunan al-Dārimī. Medina: Sharikat al-Tibā῾a al-Fanniyya al-Mut argument appears to be groundless. tahida. Second, Lazarus-Yafeh adds that Islamic law is stricter Ibn Anas, Mālik, 1999. al-Muwatta᾿. Beirut: Dār al-Gharb than Jewish law in some cases—apparently in reference al-Islāmī. to the ban on the performance of religious practices by a Ibn Farah, Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Lakhmī al-Ishbīlī, 1997. birthgiving woman.70 Such a comparison is irrelevant Mukhtasar Khilāfiyāt al-Bayhaqī, 5 vols. Riyād: Maktabat since Jewish birthgiving women are not enjoined against Rushd. the performance of religious practices. Ibn Hajar al-῾Asqalānī, Ahmad b. ῾Alī, 1959. Fath al-Bārī Third, Lazarus-Yafeh states that there are no declin- bi-Sharh Sahīh al-Bukhārī, 13 vols. Beirut: al-Maktaba ing degrees of impurity among different sources of al-Salafiyya. ᾿ bleeding in Islam.71 This article suggests, inter alia, that Ibn al-Humām, Muhammad, 1897. Sharh Fath al-Qadīr li l- ῾ ῾ this is not so and shows that the impurity of lochia is Ājiz al-Faqīr, 8 vols. Egypt: al-Matba a al-Kubrā al-Amīriyya. more severe than that of menstruant bleeding (hayd) and Ibn al-Jawzī, ῾Abd al-Rahmān b. ῾Alī b. Muhammad, 1994. bleeding resulting from an issue (istihāda). As men- al-Tahqīq fī Ahādīth al-Khilāf, 2 vols. Beirut: Dār al- tioned, the sahāba avoided intercourse with postnatal Kutub al-῾Ilmiyya. wives until the end of forty days and did not touch them Ibn Juzzī al-Kalbī, Muhammad b Ahmad b. ῾Abd Allāh, 1970. even if their bleeding stopped before. This represents al-Qawānīn al-Fiqhiyya. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr. another difference in addition to the differences mentioned Ibn Māja al-Qazwīnī, Muhammad b. Yazīd, 1952. Sunan Ibn in Section 1.1 between a woman experiencing lochia and Māja, 2 vols. Cairo: Dār Ihyā᾿ al-Kutub al-῾Arabiyya. a menstruant. The behavior of the sahāba suggests that Ibn Nujaym, ῾Umar b. Ibrāhīm, 2002. al-Nahr al-Fā᾿iq: Sharh they considered lochia on a higher level of impurity than Kanz al-Daqā᾿iq, 3 vols. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-῾Il- menstrual blood, with which it is possible to touch and miyya. Ibn Qudāma al-Maqdisī, Abū Mu ammad ῾Abd Allāh b. to do everything but intercourse.72 The rulings of al-Mu- h Ahmad b. Muhammad, 2001. al-Kāfī fī Fiqh al-Imām Ibn zanī and Abū Yūsuf, presented in Section 3, also support Hanbal, 3 vols. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-῾Ilmiyya. this view. In addition, Islamic law permits intercourse Ibn Rajab, Zayn al-Dīn Abū᾿l-Faraj ῾Abd al-Raḥmān b. Aḥmad, 1996. Fath al-Bārī: Sharh Sahīh al-Bukhārī, 10 vols. Medina: Maktabat al-Ghurabā᾿ al-Athariyya.

69 Lazarus-Yafeh, 1982:216. 70 Lazarus-Yafeh, 1982:216. 71 Lazarus-Yafeh, 1982:216. 73 This author is working on an article that examines the subject, 72 See Mazuz, 2012:205-206. titled, “Revisiting Islamic Laws of Intermenstrual Bleeding.”

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