ONE HADITH A DAY
Narrated by Ibn Majah - Narrated by At-Termedhy - Narrated by Abu Daoud - Narrated by Ahmad · Good hadith
عن حَمْنَة بنت جَحش رضي الله عنها قالت: كنت أُسْتَحَاض حَيْضَة كثيرة شَدِيدة، فأتيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أَسْتَفْتِيه وأُخْبِرُه، فَوجدْتُه في بيت أختي زينب بنت جَحش فقلت: يا رسول الله، إني امرأة أُسْتَحَاض حَيْضَة كثيرة شديدة، فما تَرى فيها، قد مَنَعَتْنِي الصلاة والصوم، فقال: «أَنْعَتُ لك الكُرْسُف، فإنه يُذهِبُ الدَّم». قالت: هو أكثر من ذلك، قال: «فاتَّخِذِي ثوبا». فقالت: هو أكثر من ذلك إنما أَثُجُّ ثَجًّا، قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : «سَآمُرُك بأمْرَين أيهما فَعَلْتِ أجْزَأَ عَنْكِ من الآخر، وإن قَوِيتِ عليهما فأنتِ أعْلَم». قال لها: «إنما هذه رَكْضَةٌ من رَكَضَات الشيطان فَتَحَيَّضِي ستَّة أيام أو سبعة أيَّام في عِلْم الله، ثم اغْتَسِلِي حتى إذا رأيت أنك قد طَهُرْتِ، واسْتَنْقَأْتِ فصلِّي ثلاثا وعشرين ليلة أو أربعا وعشرين ليلة وأيامها وصومي، فإن ذلك يُجْزِيكِ، وكذلك فافْعَلي في كل شهر كما تحيض النساء، وكما يَطْهُرْن مِيقَاتُ حَيْضِهِنَّ وَطُهْرِهِنَّ، وإن قَوِيت على أن تُؤَخِّري الظهر وتُعَجَلِّي العصر فَتَغْتَسِلِينَ وَتَجْمَعِينَ بين الصلاتين الظهر والعصر، وتُؤَخِّرِين المغرب وتُعَجِّلين العشاء، ثم تَغْتَسِلِينَ وَتَجْمَعِينَ بين الصلاتين فافْعَلي، وَتَغْتَسِلِينَ مع الفجر فافْعَلي، وصُومي إن قَدِرت على ذلك»، قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : «وهذا أَعْجَبُ الْأَمْرَيْنِ إليَّ».
“Hamnah bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: I used to experience a heavy prolonged flow of menstrual blood. So I came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) seeking a religious verdict and in order to tell him. I found him in the house of my sister, Zaynab bint Jahsh. I said: "O Messenger of Allah, I am a woman who experiences a heavy prolonged flow of menstrual blood, so what do you think about it? It has prevented me from praying and fasting." He said: "I suggest that you use cotton, for it eliminates (the traces of) blood." She replied: "It is too copious for that." He said: "Then you can use a cloth." She replied: "It is too copious for that, for my blood keeps pouring heavily." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I shall give you two commands; whichever of them you follow will be sufficient for you without the other, but you know best if you are strong enough to follow both of them." He added: "This is only a strike of the devil, so observe your menses for six or seven days, according to Allah's knowledge; then have a ritual bath. When you see that you are pure and clean, pray during twenty-three or twenty-four days and nights and fast, for that will be enough for you (for freeing your liability), and do so every month, just as women menstruate and are purified at the time of their menstruation and their purification. If you are able to delay the Zhuhr prayer and perform the ‘Asr prayer promptly, until you have a ritual bath, and then combine the two prayers and to delay the Maghrib prayer and perform the ‘Ishā' prayer, until you have a ritual bath, and then combine the two prayers, then do so: and to take a ritual bath at the Fajr prayer too, do so: and observe fast if you are able to." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Out of the two commands, the latter is more preferable to me."”
Meaning of the Hadīth of Hamnah (may Allah be pleased with her): "I used to experience a heavy prolonged flow of menstrual blood", i.e. blood used to flow strongly in big amounts and for prolonged periods. "So, I came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) seeking a religious verdict and in order to tell him", i.e. she came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to ask him about the religious ruling and what she had to do. "I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, I am a woman who experiences a heavy prolonged flow of menstrual blood, so what do you think about it? It has prevented me from praying and fasting'", i.e. the heavy flow of blood made her stop praying and fasting thinking it to be menstrual blood. Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) explained to her that such blood was not menstruation, rather, it was a strike from the devil. He said to her: "I suggest that you use cotton, for it eliminates the blood", i.e. use cotton by placing it firmly on her private parts so that it stops the blood from flowing. She said: "It is too copious for that", i.e. the discharged blood is so much that cotton cannot do this job. Then he said: "You can use a cloth", i.e. use a piece of cloth along with the cotton so that it becomes thick and can absorb the blood well. She said: "It is too copious for that, for my blood keeps pouring heavily", i.e. the blood comes out in such a large amount, and cotton or cloth is not enough, because it is discharged heavily and abundantly. Then the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's…