453. If a woman observes blood, and doubts whether it is the blood of Îayà or istiÎÁÃah, she should treat it as Îayà if it fulfills the conditions of ÎayÃ.
454. If a woman observes blood and cannot distinguish whether it is the blood of Îayà or blood from a broken hymen, she should either inspect herself, or act on precaution by combining the prohibitions of a ÎÁÞià with the obligations of a woman who is purified. To inspect herself, she should insert a cotton ball in the vaginal area, leave it there for a short while and then remove it. If the blood only stains the sides of the cotton ball, it is the blood from the hymen, and if it covers its entire surface, it is the blood of ÎayÃ.
455. If a woman bleeds for less than three days, after which she stops bleeding, and then bleeds again for three days which coincide with her regular menses, or her discharge has the qualities of ÎayÃ, then the blood from her second discharge will be the blood of ÎayÃ. As for the first discharge, it will not be treated as Îayà even if it coincides with her regular menses.
514. If the blood that a mother observes after childbirth—due to the delivery itself—ceases to flow prior to ten days, or on the tenth day, it is the blood of nifÁs. The same will apply to the blood that is discharged upon the delivery of the first parts of the baby, based on obligatory precaution.
A woman who is in the state of nifÁs is called a nufasÁÞ.
515. The blood that a woman observes prior to the appearance of the first parts of a baby is not nifÁs.
516. It is not necessary for the baby to be completely formed; rather, even if it is incomplete—provided the common understanding is that she has given birth—the blood that she observes until ten days is nifÁs. If there is a doubt whether the common understanding considers it as giving birth, the blood will not be subject to the rulings of nifÁs.
517. It is possible that the blood of nifÁs may not be discharged for more than a mere moment. However, it does not exceed more than ten days.
518. If a woman ever doubts if she has miscarried something or not, or if that which was miscarried was a baby or not, it is not necessary for her to investigate. Additionally, the discharged blood is canonically not the blood of nifÁs, albeit the recommended precaution is that she investigates.
519. It is forbidden for a nufasÁÞ to cause a part of her body to touch the script of the Qur’an, the blessed name of the Lord’s essence, and all of His other beautiful names. The rest of the acts which are forbidden for a ÎÁÞià are also forbidden for her, based on obligatory precaution, and that which is obligatory on a ÎÁÞià is also obligatory on her.
520. The divorce of a nufasÁÞ is void, and it is forbidden to have intercourse with her. However, if her husband engages in intercourse with her, he does not have to pay a kaffÁrah.
521. Once a woman is purified from the blood of nifÁs, in a manner that blood is not even present internally, she should perform ghusl and her rituals of worship.
If she observes blood again, and sum of all the days she observed blood along with the interval of purity in between, does not exceed ten days, she will consider both discharges along with the interval of purity to be nifÁs if she had a habit in her ÎayÃ, and the interval of purity fell between two discharges which occurred during her habit. For example, if her habitual duration was six days, and she was purified for two days in between the six days, then it will be nifÁs in all the six days.
Otherwise, it will be nifÁs during the days which she observed blood. As for the days in which she was purified, obligatory precaution dictates that she combine the prohibitions of a ÎÁÞià with the obligations of a woman who is purified.
522. If a woman is purified from the blood of nifÁs, but entertains the possibility that blood may be present internally, obligatory precaution dictates that she insert a piece of cotton and wait for a short while. If the cotton is clean, she should perform ghusl for her rituals of worship.
523. If the blood of nifÁs exceeds ten days, and she has a habit in her ÎayÃ, she should consider it as nifÁs for the length of her habitual duration, and the rest as istiÎÁÃah. If she does not have a habit, she should consider it as nifÁs until day ten, and the rest as istiÎÁÃah.
The recommended precaution is that the one who has a habit should refrain from the acts which are forbidden on a nufasÁÞ, and perform the acts which are obligatory on a mustaÎÁÃah, from the day after her habitual duration to the eighteenth day after childbirth. The same will apply to a woman without a habit, from the day after the tenth day to the eighteenth day after child birth.
524. If a woman whose habitual duration is less than ten days, observes blood for more than her habit, she should treat it as nifÁs for the length of her habit. Obligatory precaution dictates that she refrains from performing the rituals of worship for one day after her habitual duration. For the rest of the days, until the tenth day, she is free to choose between applying the rules of a mustaÎÁÃah and refraining from performing the rituals of worship.
If the blood exceeds ten days, she should consider the days after her habitual duration as istiÎÁÃah, and offer the qaÃÁ of all the acts that she did no performing during that period. For example, if a woman who had a habitual duration of six days, observes blood for more than six days, she should consider it as nifÁs for six days, and on the seventh day, she should refrain from performing her rituals of worship based on obligatory precaution. On the eighth, ninth and tenth day, she is free to choose between refraining to perform her rituals of worship, and performing the duties of a mustaÎÁÃah. If she observes blood for more than ten days, it is istiÎÁÃah for the days after her habitual duration.
525. If a woman who has a habit in her Îayà observes blood continuously for one month after childbirth, it will be nifÁs for the length of her habitual duration. As for the blood that she observes after nifÁs until ten days (after nifÁs), it is istiÎÁÃah even if it be during her habitual days. For example, if a woman whose habit of Îayà is from the twentieth to the twenty seventh of every month, gives birth on the tenth day of the month, and observes blood continuously for a month, it will be nifÁs until the seventeenth day. From the seventeenth day until another ten days—including the blood that is observed during her habitual days, which were from the twentieth to the twenty seventh—it will be istiÎÁÃah. After the passage of ten days, if the blood she observes is during habitual days, it will be ÎayÃ, regardless of whether it possesses the qualities of Îayà or not. The same will apply if it does not occur during her habitual days, but possesses the qualities of ÎayÃ. However, if the discharge is neither during her habitual days, nor does it possess the qualities of ÎayÃ, it will be istiÎÁÃah.
526. If a woman who does not have a habitual duration (in her ÎayÃ) observes blood continuously for a month after childbirth, the first ten days of it will be nifÁs, and the second ten days will be istiÎÁÃah. As for the blood that is observed after it, if it possesses the qualities of ÎayÃ, or is observed during her habitual time, it is ÎayÃ, and if not, it too is istiÎÁÃah.
527. If a person touches the dead body of a human being—by causing a part of his body to come in contact with—which has gone cold, and has not been given ghusl, he has to perform the ghusl for touching a dead body, regardless of whether he touches it while sleeping or while awake, volitionally or non-volitionally. In fact, even if his nails or bones come in contact with the nails or bones of the dead body, he will have to perform ghusl. However, if he touches the carcass of a dead animal, ghusl will not be obligatory on him.
528. It is not obligatory to perform ghusl for touching a dead body that has not entirely gone cold, even if one touches a part which is cold.
529. If one causes his own hair to come in contact with the body of a dead person, or causes his body to come in contact with the dead person’s hair, or his own hair to come in contact with the dead person’s hair, and the hair is such that it is considered to be a part of the body, based on obligatory precaution, he will have to perform ghusl.
530. It is obligatory to perform ghusl for having touched the body of a dead child or an aborted fetus that is at least of four months. However, it is not obligatory to perform ghusl for having touched an aborted fetus that is less than four months, unless life has been breathed into it. Hence, if a fetus of four months is stillborn, and its body goes cold, if it comes in contact with outer part of its mother’s body, she will have to perform the ghusl for touching a dead body.
531. If a baby is born after the death of its mother, and comes in contact with its mother’s body after it has gone cold, it will be obligatory on him (or her) to perform the ghusl for touching a dead body after he becomes bÁligh.
532. If a person touches a dead body on which all the three ghusls have been performed, he will not have to perform the ghusl for touching a dead body. However, if he touches the dead body prior to the completion of the third ghusl, he will have to perform the ghusl for touching a dead body even if the part he touched has already been washed in the third ghusl.
533. If an insane person or a non-bÁligh child touches a dead body, the ghusl for touching a dead body will become obligatory on the insane person upon becoming sane, and on the child upon becoming bÁligh. In addition, if a discerning child performs the ghusl for touching a dead body, his ghusl will be valid.
534. If a part that contains a bone is separated from a dead body which has not been given ghusl, and a person touches that part before it is given ghusl, based on precaution he will have to perform the ghusl for touching a dead body. However, if the severed part does not contain a bone, performing ghusl will not be obligatory. If however, a part is separated from the body whilst it is alive, touching it will not necessitate a ghusl, even if the part contains a bone.
535. It is not obligatory to perform ghusl for having touched a bone which does not contain any flesh, and has not been given ghusl either, irrespective of whether it was separated from a person’s body while he was alive or after his death. The same ruling applies to touching a tooth that has been removed from a person, irrespective of whether he was dead or alive.
536. The ghusl for touching a dead body should be performed like the ghusl of janÁbah is performed, and if a person who has performed this ghusl wishes to offer prayers, he does not have to perform wuÃÙ, albeit the recommended precaution is that he should do so.
537. If a person touches a number of dead bodies or touches a dead body a number of times, it will be sufficient for him to perform one ghusl.
538. There is no harm if a person who has not performed ghusl after having touched a dead body, halts or stays in a mosque, engages in sexual intercourse or recites the surahs that contain the verses for which sajdah is obligatory. However, he must perform ghusl for prayers and similar acts.
539. Obligatory precaution dictates that a Muslim who is dying—one who is about to give his life—should be made to sleep on his back if possible, in a manner that the sole of his feet face the qiblah, be the Muslim a man or a woman, young or old. If for any reason it is not possible to make him sleep exactly in this manner, the recommended precaution is that they should act according to these instructions as closely as possible. Similarly, if it is not possible to make him lie down in any possible manner, the recommended precaution is to make him sit facing the qiblah. If this not be possible either, he should be made to sleep on his right or left side with his body facing the qiblah.
540. The obligatory precaution is that as long as the body has not been taken away, it should be laid facing the qiblah. Recommended precaution dictates that the same be done during ghusl. However, once the ghusls are completed, it is recommended to lay it in the same manner as it is laid for offering prayers on it.
