Women, questions and answers.
Hijab, periods, postnatal bleeding, and women in worship. 30 answers, Hanafi first, with the Quran and hadith behind each one.
- Is hijab mandatory in Islam?Yes. Covering the hair and body in front of men who are not her mahram is fard (obligatory) for every Muslim woman who has reached puberty. All four schools agree on this. Leaving it is a sin, but it does not take a woman out of Islam.
- Is niqab compulsory in the Hanafi madhhab?In the Hanafi school the face is not awrah in itself, but the relied-upon later Hanafi position is that a young woman must cover her face in front of non-mahram men because of fitnah (temptation). So in practice the major Hanafi institutions treat covering the face as wajib today. The Hanbalis require it; the Malikis do not.
- Do you need to wear hijab to pray alone at home?Yes. Covering the awrah is a condition of prayer, even if no one can see you. A woman must cover her hair and whole body except the face, hands and feet. If a quarter of a part such as the hair shows for the length of one pillar of prayer, the prayer is invalid in the Hanafi school.
- Can a woman pray with her feet or hands uncovered?In the Hanafi school, yes: the face, the hands up to the wrists and the feet are not awrah in prayer, so the prayer is valid with them showing. The forearms, ankles and shins are awrah. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools require the feet to be covered.
- Who is a mahram for a woman in Islam?A mahram is a man a woman can never marry because of blood, breastfeeding or marriage ties: her father, grandfathers, sons, grandsons, brothers, nephews, uncles, father-in-law, son-in-law and stepson, among others. She may be seen without hijab by them and may travel with them. Cousins and brothers-in-law are not mahram.
- Is father-in-law a mahram? What about a brother-in-law?Yes, your husband's father is a permanent mahram, even after divorce or your husband's death. Your husband's brother is not a mahram: hijab applies in front of him and you should not be alone with him. The four schools agree.
- Can a woman travel alone in Islam?In the Hanafi school a woman may not travel the distance of a journey (about 48 miles or 77 km) without her husband or a mahram, even for hajj. Shorter trips are allowed with hijab and safety. The Shafi'i and Maliki schools allow obligatory hajj in a safe group of women.
- Are women allowed to work in Islam?Yes, a woman may work and earn in halal work, and her earnings are hers alone. The conditions are hijab, no being alone with non-mahram men, a halal job, and, for a married woman, agreement with her husband so that his rights and the children are not neglected.
- Are women allowed in the mosque?Yes, women may enter the masjid, and the Prophet ﷺ told men not to stop them. He also said a woman's prayer at home is better for her. The later Hanafi jurists disliked women attending congregational prayers because of fitnah, but many Hanafi scholars today encourage using the women's area when you are out or for learning.
- Can you go to the mosque on your period?No. In the Hanafi school a woman in her period or postnatal bleeding may not enter the prayer area of a masjid, not even to pass through, unless there is a real necessity. She may enter areas that are not part of the masjid proper, such as a hall, office or Eid ground.
- Can I read or touch the Quran on my period?In the Hanafi school, no: a woman in her period may not recite the Quran aloud or under her breath, even less than a verse, and may not touch the mushaf without a separate cloth. She may read duas and dhikr, recite verses that are duas with the intention of dua, listen to the Quran and look at it.
- Can I read Quran on my phone during my period?You may hold the phone and look at the Quran on the screen, and read it in your mind without moving your tongue. Reciting it, aloud or in a whisper, is still not allowed in the Hanafi school, because the ban is on recitation, not on paper.
- Can you pray if you are spotting before your period?It depends on how long it lasts. In the Hanafi school, spotting of any colour counts as part of your period if the bleeding in total reaches at least 3 days and stays within 10. If you stop praying and the bleeding stops before 3 days, it was not a period, and you make up the prayers you missed.
- What are the minimum and maximum days of a period in the Hanafi madhhab?In the Hanafi school a period (hayd) lasts at least 3 days (72 hours) and at most 10 days (240 hours). The clean gap between two periods is at least 15 days. Bleeding outside these limits is istihadah, not a period. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools set the minimum at one day and the maximum at 15.
- What if my period lasts more than 10 days?In the Hanafi school, if bleeding goes past 10 days, only your usual number of days is your period and the rest is istihadah. You make ghusl, pray from day 11, and make up the prayers you missed after your usual days ended. A first-time bleeder counts 10 days as her period.
- Is brown discharge a period in Islam?In the Hanafi school, brown, yellow or murky discharge counts as your period when it comes within your possible period days, including at the start and end. Your period is over only when you see pure white or nothing. Brown discharge outside those days is not a period; it breaks wudu but you keep praying.
- What is istihadah and how do you pray with it?Istihadah is bleeding that is not a period or postnatal bleeding, for example bleeding under 3 days or beyond 10 days. A woman with istihadah prays and fasts. If it is continuous, she makes wudu once in each prayer time and may pray all she wants in that time.
- How long is nifas (postnatal bleeding) in Islam?In the Hanafi school nifas has no minimum and a maximum of 40 days. If bleeding stops before 40 days, make ghusl and start praying. Bleeding after 40 days is istihadah. The Shafi'i and Maliki schools set the maximum at 60 days.
- Is bleeding after a miscarriage nifas?In the Hanafi school, if any human feature of the baby had formed, such as a finger, nail or hair, the bleeding after a miscarriage is nifas. If nothing had formed, it is treated as a period when it lasts at least 3 days after 15 clean days, and otherwise as istihadah.
- Do women have to make up prayers missed during their period?No. Prayers left during a period or postnatal bleeding are forgiven and are not made up. Fasts missed in Ramadan must be made up later. All four schools agree.
- What if my period starts while fasting in Ramadan?Your fast for that day ends, even if the period starts a minute before Maghrib, and you make up that day later. In the Hanafi school you may eat and drink, but discreetly, not in front of fasting people. If your period ends during the day, you abstain for the rest of the day and still make it up.
- Can I fast without ghusl after my period ends?Yes. If your period ends before Fajr, you start the fast and may do ghusl after Fajr. In the Hanafi school, if your period ended before the full 10 days, there must have been enough time before Fajr for ghusl and the opening takbir for that day's fast to count.
- Do women have to undo their braids for ghusl?No. In the Hanafi school a woman does not have to undo her braids for ghusl after a period or janabah, as long as water reaches the roots of her hair and the scalp. Loose hair must be washed through.
- Is intercourse during periods allowed in Islam?No. Intercourse during a period or postnatal bleeding is haram by agreement of all the scholars. Closeness without intercourse is allowed. A couple who did it must make sincere tawbah (repentance), and the Hanafis recommend giving some charity as well.
- Can you pray with nail polish on? What about henna?No, not if you made wudu over it. Ordinary nail polish forms a layer that stops water reaching the nail, so wudu and ghusl are not valid and nor is the prayer. Henna only stains, so it does not block water and is fine.
- Is wearing makeup haram in Islam?No. Makeup is permissible, and beautifying yourself for your husband is rewarded. What is not allowed is displaying it to non-mahram men, which the Quran calls tabarruj. Makeup that forms a waterproof layer must be removed for wudu.
- Is plucking eyebrows haram in Islam?Yes. In the Hanafi school, plucking, threading or shaving the eyebrows to shape or thin them is haram. Removing hair between the brows (a unibrow) and trimming brows that are unusually thick back to a normal look are allowed. Removing facial hair such as a moustache or beard is recommended for women.
- Can women be imams or lead other women in prayer?A woman cannot lead men in prayer: all four schools agree. Leading other women is where they differ. In the Hanafi school a women-only congregation is makruh tahrimi; if they do pray together, the woman leading stands in the middle of the front row. The Shafi'is and Hanbalis encourage it.
- Is a woman's voice awrah in Islam?On the stronger Hanafi view, a woman's voice is not awrah in itself, so she may speak to non-mahram men when there is a need, in a normal, firm tone. She should not soften her speech, and she should not sing or recite melodiously in front of them.
- Can women visit graves in Islam?In the Hanafi school women may visit graves to remember death and pray for the dead, as long as there is no wailing, no loud grief and no mixing that leads to fitnah. Scholars advise young women to go rarely. Visiting the grave of the Prophet ﷺ is recommended for everyone.