Nisaa
Nifas is the discharge of blood after the birth of a child, known as post-partum bleeding. The blood discharged from a woman's womb following a miscarriage is also considered Nifas, provided the miscarried fetus had developed human features, a stage some scholars estimate to occur around 80 days into the pregnancy.
Women are not pure during Nifas, and the same rulings for menstruations apply to them during this time.
Regarding the minimum duration of Nifas, the majority of scholars, including the four imams, hold the view that there is none. Once a woman becomes pure from Nifas, she must perform Ghusl, and resume praying and fasting. This is because there is no specific minimum duration for Nifas mentioned in the Shari'ah. The determination is based on observation and experience, which shows that the period of Nifas can vary, sometimes it is very short, and other times it may last longer.
Regarding the maximum duration, scholars have differed:
- The Hanafi and Hanbali scholars see that it is 40 days
- The Maliki and Shafii consider that it can be up to 60 days.
The opinion of Malik and Al-Shafi'i, which sets the maximum duration of Nifas at sixty days, is based on actual observation. Reports from some scholars have attested that certain women experienced postpartum bleeding for up to two months.
However, the most predominant opinion seems to be 40 days. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: "Al-Tahawi said: None of the Companions held the view of sixty days; rather, it was the opinion of those who came after them." Also Ibn Qudama said: "The majority of scholars hold that the maximum duration of Nifas is forty days." This is mainly based on the hadith of Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) who said: "The Nufasa' (a woman in Nifas) used to continue to be in childbed for forty days at the time of the Prophet (Salla Allahu 'Alayhi Wa Sallam be upon him)." (narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawood, Ibn Majah, and At-Tirmidhi).
Therefore, if we consider the predominant opinion that sets the maximum at 40 days, if a woman continues to experience post-childbirth bleeding for 40 days and beyond, this is considered Istihadah (irregular bleeding), which does not prevent her from performing prayer or fasting.
However, if the end of the 40 days coincides with her regular menstrual period, she should treat this blood as menstrual blood. If Nifas bleeding ceases before the completion of 40 days and the woman experiences bleeding again within that period, it is still considered Nifas until the forty days are over.
It is important to note that days without bleeding are still counted toward the maximum duration of postnatal bleeding, except in the Maliki school of thought.
In the Maliki Madhhab, the classification of postnatal bleeding (Nifas) depends on the duration of purity between episodes of bleeding. If a woman experiences a pause in bleeding but it resumes within 15 days, it is still considered Nifas. However, if the bleeding returns after a purity period of 15 days or more, it is classified as menstrual bleeding (Hayd). Additionally, if postnatal bleeding occurs intermittently with gaps of purity lasting less than 15 days, all such bleeding is still regarded as Nifas. Once the total number of bleeding days, excluding the pure days, reaches 60, the postnatal bleeding is considered to have ended.
This is also why nifas does not stop a woman from making ihram for Hajj or Umrah if it coincides with her travel: the Prophet (Salla Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) told Asma bint Umays to bathe, bind herself with a cloth, and enter ihram while she was still bleeding from childbirth, a case set out in full in what if your period starts during Umrah.