Short answer
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.
Nifas lasts at most 40 days with no minimum. When it stops earlier she makes ghusl and prays; if it returns within the 40 days, the returning blood and the clean days in between count as nifas. Beyond 40 days, a woman with a previous nifas habit counts her habit, and a first-time mother counts 40 days, as nifas; the rest is istihadah.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Maximum 60 days, usually 40; no minimum.
- Maliki
- Maximum 60 days; no minimum.
Explanation
Nifas is the bleeding after childbirth. During it the same rules apply as during a period: no prayer, no fasting, no intercourse, no reciting or touching the Quran, no entering the prayer hall of a masjid. Missed fasts are made up later; missed prayers are not. Umm Salamah reported that women in postnatal bleeding sat for 40 days in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, and the Hanafi and Hanbali schools take 40 as the maximum.
Common situations:
- Bleeding stops at 2 or 3 weeks: make ghusl and pray. You do not have to wait for 40 days. Many people wrongly think a new mother must wait 40 days regardless.
- It stops, then comes back within 40 days: in the Hanafi school the return and the clean days in between are all nifas, so prayers you prayed in those clean days were not owed. Stop praying again when it returns.
- It goes past 40 days: make ghusl at 40 and pray. If you had a shorter nifas habit from a previous birth, the days after your habit are istihadah and those prayers must be made up.
- Caesarean birth: the bleeding from the womb is nifas in the same way.
- No bleeding at all: there is no nifas. Make ghusl as a precaution and pray.
After nifas, intercourse is allowed once the bleeding has stopped and ghusl is done, even before 40 days, though follow your doctor's advice on healing. For a miscarriage, see bleeding after a miscarriage. For the bath, see how to do ghusl.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:222
وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلْمَحِيضِ ۖ قُلْ هُوَ أَذًۭى فَٱعْتَزِلُوا۟ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فِى ٱلْمَحِيضِ ۖ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوهُنَّ حَتَّىٰ يَطْهُرْنَ ۖ فَإِذَا تَطَهَّرْنَ فَأْتُوهُنَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَمَرَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلتَّوَّٰبِينَ وَيُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ ﴿٢٢٢﴾
And they ask you about menstruation. Say, "It is harm, so keep away from wives during menstruation. And do not approach them until they are pure. And when they have purified themselves, then come to them from where Allah has ordained for you. Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves."
The scholars apply the rulings of menstruation to postnatal bleeding.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 139
Graded hasan sahih... كانت النفساء تجلس على عهد رسول الله ...
"In the time of the Messenger of Allah, women in postnatal bleeding would sit for forty days."
Umm Salamah's report, the basis for the forty-day maximum.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on postnatal bleeding (fasl fi al-nifas). No minimum, maximum forty days.
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on menstruation, section on nifas. Clean days inside the forty count as nifas when blood returns.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Hayd, chapter on nifas. Shafi'i maximum of sixty days.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.