The Ritual Ablutions for Women

Preface

Knowing the laws regarding the monthly periods and pre‑ or post‑natal bleeding is an essential duty of every Muslim woman. But the unavailability of a com­prehensive book in English on this subject has made the access to these laws almost impossible for those Muslim women who are unfamiliar with Arabic, Persian or Ur­du. One reason for the unavailability of such a book in English is that in many Muslim communities, open discussion of this and similar subjects were tabooed. This, plus the complication of the laws of menstruation (which arises from the vast differences in the patterns of women's menstrual cycles) may have discouraged many writers from dealing with this subject comprehensively.

The present writer, by putting his trust in Allah, has tried to accomplish this task and has simplified, to his utmost ability, the laws of the shari'ah regarding the women in their monthly periods.

This book consists of three parts:

1. Menstruation.

2. Irregular Bleeding.

3. Post‑natal Bleeding.

The last two parts are to be read as normally. But as far as the first part is concerned, the reader is requested to read the following instruction which will help her from getting confused.

There are three stages of reading the first part of this book:

Firstly, you are adviced to read the first four chapters (pp. 1‑7) . In the fourth chapter you will find the defini­tions of different categories of women in their monthly periods. In this chapter, find the appropriate category to which you belong.

Secondly, proceed to read only one of the next four chapters (chps. 5‑8) which is about your appropriate category. At this stage do not read the laws and pro­blems of the women in other categories otherwise you will get confused.

Thirdly, read the last four chapters (chps. 9‑12).

In chapter six of part I, have given some charts to simplify the laws. To understand the charts, please read the following:

An index has been added to enable the readers to find those minor but important laws which could not be accomodated under an individual heading.

At the end, I thank Allah for giving me an oppor­tunity to serve His chosen religion, and may He accept this humble work from one of His most humble servants.

S. M. Rizvi
Tel: (604) 278‑3698
Richmond, B.C.
Ramadan 1405.
May 1985.