Are Menstruating and Postpartum (Nifas) Women Obligated to Jamak After Becoming Pure?

The scholars are in agreement that there is no obligation upon a menstruating woman to perform the prayers or to make up the prayers (qadā') she missed during her menstruation. This is based on the statement of 'Ā'ishah:

كَانَتْ إِحْدَانَا تَحِيضُ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، ثُمَّ لَا تُؤْمَرُ بِقَضَاءٍ

"One of us (women) used to menstruate during the time of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam, but she was not commanded to make up (qadā') (the prayers)." (HR. Al-Bukhari: 321 and Muslim: 335. This is the wording of Muslim)

However, the matter is different if the woman has become pure (finished her menstruation). This is because some scholars affirm the existence of a shared time (isytirāk) for certain pairs of the five daily prayers whose times are close together or which are prescribed to be combined (jamak) due to specific conditions, namely Dhuhr with Asr, and Maghrib with Isha. Ibn al-Mundhir said,

وَقَدْ أَجْمَعَ أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ عَلَى أَنْ لَا صَلَاةَ عَلَى الْحَائِضِ، ثُمَّ اخْتَلَفُوا فِيمَا يَجِبُ عَلَيْهَا إِذَا طَهُرَتْ فِي آخِرِ وَقْتِ الْعَصْرِ، فَأَجْمَعُوا عَلَى وُجُوبِ صَلَاةِ الْعَصْرِ عَلَيْهَا، وَاخْتَلَفُوا فِي وُجُوبِ صَلَاةِ الظُّهْرِ

"The people of knowledge have agreed that there is no prayer upon a menstruating woman, but then they differedconcerning what is obligatory upon her if she becomes pure at the end of the time for Asr. They agreed on the obligation of the Asr prayer upon her, and they differed concerning the obligation of the Dhuhr prayer." (Al-Awsaṭ II/243)

The Obligation to Combine Prayers (Wujūb Jamak)

This is the opinion of the majority of scholars (jumhūr), namely the Mālikiyah, Shāfi'īyah, and Ḥanābilah. Shaykh Bin Bāz said, "This is the most correct of the two opinions of the scholars." That is, the obligation to combine prayers for a woman who becomes pure from her haid (menstruation) during the time of Asr or the time of Isha. If she becomes pure during the time of Asr, she is obligated to perform Dhuhr and Asr prayers at the time of Asr. If she becomes pure during the time of Isha, she is obligated to perform Maghrib and Isha prayers at the time of Isha. However, this does not apply if the woman becomes pure during the time of Fajr, Dhuhr, or Maghrib, because Dhuhr time cannot be combined with Fajr time, Maghrib time cannot be combined with Asr time, and Fajr time cannot be combined with any other time.

Imam Ibn Qudāmah Al-Hanbali said,

وَإِذَا طَهُرَتْ الْحَائِضُ وَأَسْلَمَ الْكَافِرُ وَبَلَغَ الصَّبِيُّ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَغِيبَ الشَّمْسُ، صَلَّوْا الظُّهْرَ فَالْعَصْرَ، وَإِنْ بَلَغَ الصَّبِيُّ وَأَسْلَمَ الْكَافِرُ وَطَهُرَتْ الْحَائِضُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَطْلُعَ الْفَجْرُ، صَلَّوْا الْمَغْرِبَ وَعِشَاءَ الْآخِرَةِ، وَرُوِيَ هَذَا الْقَوْلُ فِي الْحَائِضِ تَطْهُرُ عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ عَوْفٍ وَابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ وَطَاوُسٍ وَمُجَاهِدٍ وَالنَّخَعِيِّ وَالزُّهْرِيِّ وَرَبِيعَةَ وَمَالِكٍ وَاللَّيْثِ وَالشَّافِعِيِّ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَأَبِي ثَوْرٍ، قَالَ الْإِمَامُ أَحْمَدُ: "عَامَّةُ التَّابِعِينَ يَقُولُونَ بِهَذَا الْقَوْلِ إلَّا الْحَسَنَ وَحْدَهُ"

"If a menstruating woman becomes pure, a disbeliever embraces Islam, and a child reaches puberty before the sun sets, they must pray Dhuhr and Asr. If a child reaches puberty, a disbeliever embraces Islam, and a menstruating woman becomes pure before the Fajr (dawn) rises, they must pray Maghrib and Isha. This opinion regarding the menstruating woman becoming pure is narrated from 'Abdurraḥmān bin 'Awf, Ibn 'Abbās, Ṭāwūs, Mujāhid, An-Nakha'ī, Az-Zuhri, Ar-Rabī'ah, Mālik, Al-Layth, Asy-Shāfi'ī, Isḥāq, and Abū Thawr. Imam Aḥmad said, 'The generality of the Tābi'īn (Successors) hold this opinion, except Al-Ḥasan alone.'" (Al-Mughnī I/287)

Evidence & Reasoning

The evidence for this opinion is the sayings of the Companions (Athar aṣ-Ṣaḥābah) which no other Companion is known to have contradicted.

• Statement of 'Abdurraḥmān bin 'Awf:

  إِذَا طَهُرَتِ الْحَائِضُ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَغْرُبَ الشَّمْسُ صَلَّتِ الظُّهْرَ وَالْعَصْرَ جَمِيعًا، وَإِذَا طَهُرَتْ قَبْلَ الْفَجْرِ صَلَّتِ الْمَغْرِبَ وَالْعِشَاءَ جَمِيعًا

  "If a menstruating woman becomes pure before the sun sets, she must pray Dhuhr and Asr combined (jamak). If she becomes pure before dawn, she must pray Maghrib and Isha combined." (AR. Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Kubrā: 1815, Ibn Abī Shaybah in Al-Mūsannaf: 7205, and Ibn al-Mundhir in Al-Awsaṭ: 824)

• Statement of 'Abdullāh bin 'Abbās:

  إِذَا طَهُرَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ فِي وَقْتِ صَلَاةِ الْعَصْرِ فَلْتَبْتَدِئْ بِالظُّهْرِ فَلْتُصَلِّهَا، ثُمَّ لِتُصَلِّ الْعَصْرَ، فَإِذَا طَهُرَتْ فِي وَقْتِ الْعِشَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ فَلْتُصَلِّ الْمَغْرِبَ وَالْعِشَاءَ

  "If a woman becomes pure during the time of the Asr prayer, she should start with the Dhuhr prayer and perform it, then she should pray Asr. If she becomes pure during the time of the Isha prayer, she must pray Maghrib and Isha." (AR. Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Kubrā: 1816, Ibn Abī Shaybah in Al-Mūsannaf: 7207, and Ad-Dārimī: 922)

This is further strengthened by the fact that the senior students of 'Abdullāh bin 'Abbās (such as 'Atā', Sa'īd bin Jubayr, and Ṭāwūs bin Kaysān) held the same opinion. This ruling from 'Abdurraḥmān bin 'Awf and Ibn 'Abbās is virtually a tacit consensus (ijmā' sukūtī) because no Companion is known to have opposed it, and it was the view of the general Tābi'īn, as affirmed by Imam Aḥmad.

The basis for the Companions' view of combining (isytirāk) the times of Dhuhr and Asr, and Maghrib and Isha, for those who have just been relieved of their excuse (e.g., end of haid) is the verses of the Qur'an which group the prayers together, such as:

وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ طَرَفَيِ النَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ ذَلِكَ ذِكْرَى لِلذَّاكِرِينَ

"And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and during the first hours of the night..." (QS. Hud: 114).

Not Obligating to Combine Prayers (Lā Wujūb Jamak)

This is the opinion of the Ḥanafiyah, the Ẓāhirīyah, and Imam Ibn al-Mundhir (Shafi'i). It is also the view of Imam Ath-Thawrī and chosen by Shaykh Ibn al-'Uthaymīn (Hanbali). This means that a woman who becomes pure from menstruation only needs to perform the prayer whose time she became pure in, and she is not required to combine it with the preceding prayer.

Imam Al-Qudūrī Al-Hanafi said,

قَالَ أَصْحَابُنَا: "إِذَا بَلَغَ الصَّبِيُّ أَوْ أَسْلَمَ الْكَافِرُ أَوْ طَهُرَتِ الْحَائِضُ أَوْ أَفَاقَ الْمَجْنُونُ فِي وَقْتِ الْعَصْرِ لَمْ يَلْزَمْهُمُ الظُّهْرُ، وَإِنْ كَانَ ذَلِكَ فِي وَقْتِ الْعِشَاءِ لَمْ يَلْزَمْهُمُ الْمَغْرِبُ

"Our scholars (ulama) hold that, 'If a child reaches puberty, a disbeliever embraces Islam, a woman becomes pure (from her haid), or an insane person recovers (from his insanity) during the time of Asr, they are not obligated to perform Dhuhr. If this occurs during the time of Isha, they are not obligated to perform Maghrib.'" (At-Tajrīd I/399)

Evidence & Reasoning

This view is supported by the verse:

إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَوْقُوتًا

"Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers at specified times." (QS. An-Nisa: 103).

The argument is that each of the five daily prayers has its own time, and combining them is not permissible unless there is a clear text (naṣṣ ṣarīḥ) from the Qur'an, Sunnah, or ijma'. Since 'Ā'ishah stated that women were not commanded to make up the prayers missed during haid (reported at the beginning of this text), commanding them to combine prayers would be like commanding them to make up prayers (even if not all of them), which contradicts the Hadith of 'Ā'ishah.

They also cite the Hadith:

مَنْ أَدْرَكَ مِنَ الصُّبْحِ رَكْعَةً قَبْلَ أَنْ تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ فَقَدْ أَدْرَكَ الصُّبْحَ، وَمَنْ أَدْرَكَ رَكْعَةً مِنَ الْعَصْرِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَغْرُبَ الشَّمْسُ فَقَدْ أَدْرَكَ الْعَصْرَ

"Whoever catches **one unit of prayer (rak'ah) of Fajr before the sun rises has caught the Fajr prayer, and whoever catches one rak'ah of Asr before the sun sets has caught the Asr prayer." (HR. Al-Bukhari: 579 and Muslim: 608 from Abū Hurayrah).

The argument is that if a person catches one unit of the prayer whose time has come, they are considered to have caught the entire prayer. Since a woman who becomes pure during Asr time did not catch even one unit of the Dhuhr prayer while being pure, she is not obligated to perform it.

This view is further supported by the opinion of the Companion Anas bin Mālik:

إِذَا طَهُرَتْ فِي وَقْتِ صَلَاةٍ صَلَّتْ تِلْكَ الصَّلَاةَ وَلَا تُصَلِّي غَيْرَهَا

"If a woman becomes pure during the time of a prayer, she should pray that prayer and not pray any other (obligatory) prayer." (AR. Ad-Dārimī: 929). This counters the argument of a tacit consensus (ijmā' sukūtī) based on the reports of 'Abdurraḥmān bin 'Awf and Ibn 'Abbās.

Conclusion

The most cautious position in this matter is the opinion of the majority of scholars, which is the obligation to combine prayers if a woman becomes pure during the time of Asr or Isha. As Imam Aḥmad noted, the obligation to combine prayers was the view of the majority of the Tābi'īn, which strongly suggests it was the view of the majority of the Ṣaḥābah. Furthermore, combining the prayers is more prudent in order to avoid the difference of opinion among the scholars. Even scholars who did not deem it obligatory, such as Imam Sufyān Ath-Thawrī and Shaykh Ibn al-'Uthaymīn, recommended it. Therefore, performing Dhuhr and Maghrib along with Asr and Isha (if one becomes pure during the latter times) is more cautious and safer.