Nisaa
It depends on how far along the pregnancy was, and the schools describe the line differently. If the baby had begun to take human form, the bleeding is nifas: you do not pray or fast while it lasts, and you owe no prayers afterwards. If it had not, the blood is not nifas and you pray and fast as normal, with wudu for each prayer, as a woman with istihadah does. Where the schools differ is on what counts as "human form", and that decides which of the two you are in.
The two possible rulings
- Nifas. The bleeding carries the rulings of nifas: no prayer and no fast while it continues, ghusl when it ends, and the fasts (but not the prayers) are made up. The reasoning is the hadith of Mu'adhah, who asked 'A'ishah (radi Allahu 'anha) why a menstruating woman makes up fasts but not prayers. She answered: "That used to happen to us, and we were commanded to make up the fasts, and not commanded to make up the prayers" (narrated by Muslim).
- Blood that is not nifas. Scholars call this dam fasad (blood of disorder). It does not stop prayer or fasting. The Prophet (Salla Allahu 'Alayhi Wa Sallam) told Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh (radi Allahu 'anha), who bled outside her cycle: "No, that is a vein and not the menstrual period. When the menstrual period comes, leave the prayer; when it goes, wash the blood from yourself and pray" (narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim, from 'A'ishah). You then follow the istihadah routine for prayer.
What decides which one it is
The question is whether what was miscarried had begun to take human form. The creation of the child is described in the Qur'an: ﴿ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا﴾ "then We made the drop into a clinging clot, then made the clot into a lump of flesh, then made the lump into bones, then clothed the bones with flesh" (Surat al-Mu'minun 23:14). And Ibn Mas'ud (radi Allahu 'anhu) narrated that the Prophet (Salla Allahu 'Alayhi Wa Sallam) said that each of us is gathered in his mother's womb for forty days, then is a clot for the same, then a lump of flesh for the same (narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim). The schools build on these stages in two ways, as summarised in al-Mawsu'ah al-Fiqhiyyah (2/63) and quoted by IslamQA:
- Hanafis and Hanbalis: nifas is established only if some part of the human form has appeared, such as a limb, a finger or the head. If none has, "the woman does not become nifas by it." The Hanbalis put the earliest this can be at 81 days, 80 days for the first two stages plus one more (Sharh Muntaha al-Iradat, 1/122). Ibn 'Uthaymeen (Hanbali) wrote: "Nifas is not established unless she gives birth to what shows the creation of a human" (al-Dima' al-Tabi'iyyah lil-Nisa', p. 40). The sources used here give no day count for the Hanafi school, only the appearance of the limbs.
- Malikis and Shafi'is: in the preferred (mu'tamad) view, nifas is established even if what she miscarried was only a lump of flesh or a clot of blood, since it is the origin of a human, as the texts put it: "nifas is established even if she expelled a clot."
So a very early loss, before about 80 days, is not nifas for the Hanafis and Hanbalis, but can be for the Malikis and Shafi'is. After about 81 days with a recognisable form, the blood is nifas in all four schools.
If you cannot tell what stage it was
Many women never see or cannot examine what passed. IslamQA (answer 484356) says to ask a doctor whether human form had appeared; if the doctor cannot say either, to treat the blood as nifas, following the view above. That is IslamQA's guidance and not a rule all scholars state in these words, so if your situation is unclear, ask a scholar you trust.
When the blood is not nifas: possibly hayd
If the bleeding is not nifas, it is usually treated as istihadah and you pray. IslamQA notes an exception: where the bleeding falls in the days of your usual period, those days are hayd. See how to tell istihadah from hayd for the signs.
What it means for prayer and fasting
- Counted as nifas: you do not pray or fast while it lasts, and you owe no make-up prayers. Fasts missed in Ramadan are made up; see how to count the fasts you owe. Nifas has the same maximum as after a birth, forty days for the Hanafis and Hanbalis and sixty for the Malikis and Shafi'is, as set out in how long nifas lasts.
- Not nifas: you were required to pray and fast, so any prayers you skipped while bleeding are made up (IslamQA, answer 484356). If you prayed with wudu for each prayer, nothing is owed.
Bleeding after a loss is also a medical matter
The ruling tells you how to worship; it cannot tell you whether your body is recovering as it should. Tell your doctor or midwife about a miscarriage if you have not, and contact them about bleeding that worries you. A loss is also a grief. You are not required to work out every detail of the fiqh on the day it happens.
Keep the dates
Everything above turns on dates: how many days along you were, the day bleeding began, and the day it stopped. Writing them down at the time saves you reconstructing them later; see the best period tracker for Muslim women for what a tracker should keep. If you were bleeding earlier in the pregnancy, do I pray if I see bleeding during pregnancy covers that.
If you want to know when to expect a true period afterwards, see when your period comes back after a miscarriage.
This page is a study aid compiled from cited classical sources. It is not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.
