Date : 16-03-2010

Question :

There is a fifty-year-old woman whose menstrual period has stopped for almost a year, but has now resumed. Is it menstrual blood or an Istihadah(Bleeding outside the monthly period)? If it is an Istihadah, should she make up for the prayer that she had missed during that?

The Answer :

All perfect praise be to Allah The Lord of The Worlds, and may His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.



According to our school of thought (Shafie), if the blood continued for more than one day and one night, then it is menstruation since, in principle, a woman menstruates until the end of her life.



Ibn Hajar Al-Haitami (May Allah have mercy on him) said: "There is no age limit for menstruation since it continues till the end of a woman`s life, and setting menopause at sixty-two doesn`t rule out that a woman won`t menstruate after that age since the criterion, here, is the majority of the women." {Moghni Al-Mohtaj, vol.1/pp.384}. And Allah Knows Best.