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answering question on period and not praying
ayeshah
11/02/01 at 18:39:42
assalam-o-alaikoum i have a question on how to answer a question. When non-muslim women ask me why i don't pray during my period, i don't kno how to answer their question properly. i say u r considered unclean and not pure, but they take it in the wrong way. it's like the'll be "aren't u offended that u r considered unclean?". i say no but i don't kno how to explain it to them. how would u explain it? walaikoum assalam

Re: answering question on period and not praying
Hajreee
11/03/01 at 15:05:08
Salaams you know, i think there is a post on this topic... explaining the reasons why women don't pray during umm such times... but i'm no admin or moderator.. so i dont know where it is, inshaAllah someone can give it to you :) but another thing you can say besides saying 'unpure and stuff' is that women usually go through SOOOOOO much pain, like some people really have it UNBEARABLE!! and that islam is making a bit easier for us women and how islam never puts anything on us that we can NOT handle...sooo...maybe that would be understandable to nonmuslims?! i dunno.... take care Wa Salaams

Re: answering question on period and not praying
Mujaahid
11/03/01 at 15:26:12
as salaamu 'alaikum wa rahmatullaahi ta'ala wa barakaatuh Insha Allaah the sisters will not mind that I try to answer the question which sister aisha had asked since I think she would like to have any input on the topic. The issue is not at all one that women are unclean in the sense that they are "filthy" or "dirty" which is what alot of the non-Muslims have a perception of. The issue is that the blood coming out of the body of any person, man or female, is viewed as not a suitable condition to be in when performing the Salaah since when the believer performs Salaah he/she should be in a elevated state of purity, which is why when wudhu is performed the water should reach ever part of the skin and body that is required by the act of wudhu - so that if some water does not reach a part of the body, although the wudhu is invalid and then the person cannot perform Salaah - it is not as if that person is "filthy" or "dirty", it is just that they are not in that elevated condition of purity that is suitable to perform the Salaah. So this is also the case when women are menstruating, and the case where men or women have an open wound, they cannot perform the Salaah in that state, regardless of the sex of the person, until the blood stops flowing from the wound and the person can then perform wudhu and then the Salaah. This is the case with most of the fluids which come from inside of the body, not just blood, that it is viewed the wudhu is nullified and hence the person cannot perform the Salaah. So sister this is the only reason that is the case, because when a sister is menstruating there is the possibility that her wudhu will be broken due the presence of blood, such as is the case with a man who has a wound and the blood comes out, he cannot perform the Salaah just as the sister who is in menstruation cannot perform it - and since men do not obviously menstruate the former situation is only present with regards women, and that is the only reason why they are considered impure for the purposes of Salaah, as well as other acts of 'Ibaadah which require that specific status of purity. So sister aisha whether the sister is actually physically clean or not is not what is meant in this situation, impurity is relating to a condition that EVERY believer, man or women, has to come out of before performing Salaah. I hope this helps. was salaamu 'alaikum wa rahmatullaahi ta'ala wa barakaatuh

Re: answering question on period and not praying
Anonymous
11/03/01 at 23:42:31
In explaining to non-Muslim women why you would not pray while you're on your period, perhaps it is semantics, the use of the words "unclean" and "impure" that are misunderstood. One must be in the right physical and mental condition to pray properly and with complete respect, in any religion. Some people do not feel they can pray without being in a certain place...some cannot pray without wearing a certain item of clothing. Non-Muslim women may perceive your belief of not praying while menstruating is a form of oppression and restriction, rather than an open acceptance of what you believe is right. To a non-Muslim woman, it could be explained in terms of your knowing to pray when you are in the proper physical and mental condition. This is just to communicate it in terms that a non-Muslim might understand.

Re: answering question on period and not praying
nehar
11/04/01 at 20:52:18
[slm] i just had 2 go 2 islam-qa, i find it really useful, hope it helps [wlm] [color=Green]Question: Do the clothes worn by a mestruating woman need to be washed even if they are not stained by the menstrual blood? Once her periods have finished, can a woman perform salat with the clothes that she wore while menstruating without washing them if they were not stained with the blood? [/color] [color=Blue]Answer: Praise be to Allaah. So long as the clothes she is wearing do not contain any najaasah (impure substance), she is permitted to pray in them, even if she was wearing them during her monthly period. The menstruating woman herself is not naajis, neither is her sweat. The Jews used to think this, but Allaah stated that this was a lie, as is reported in the saheeh hadeeth narrated by Muslim (may Allaah have mercy on him) from Anas: "When one of their women menstruated, the Jews would not eat with her or sit with her in their houses. The Companions of the Prophet  (Peace & Blessings of Allaah be upon Him) asked the Prophet  (Peace & Blessings of Allaah be upon Him) about this, and Allaah revealed the words (interpretation of the meaning): ‘They ask you about menstruation. Say: That is an adhaa (a harmful thing for a husband to have intercourse with his wife while she is having her menses), therefore keep away from women during menses and go not unto them till they have purified (from menses and taken a bath)…’ [al-Baqarah 2:222]. The Prophet  (Peace & Blessings of Allaah be upon Him) said: ‘Do everything except have intercourse.’ Word of this reached the Jews and they said: ‘What does this man mean, in every issue he differs from us!’" (Saheeh Muslim, 455). If the clothes get some menstrual blood on them, it is enough to remove the impurity with water and then she can pray in them. And Allah knows best.)[/color] Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)

Re: answering question on period and not praying
kiwi25
11/05/01 at 15:42:55
salam, i just also wanted to add that obviously women are not oppressed when they have their periods becasue men are also not in the state to pray when they have istihlam (or wet dreams).   both must perform ghusl in order to be in a state of tahir for salah. wasalam, nouha:)
NS

Re: answering question on period and not praying
ayeshah
11/05/01 at 16:02:03
assalam-o-alaikoum thanx for ur replys.
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