Types of Women in Hanafi Fiqh
In Hanafi jurisprudence, the states of women are among the fundamental topics that directly affect rulings related to worship and ritual purity.
Mu’tadah (Woman with a Stable Habit)
A woman whose valid bleeding and valid purity periods become established after reaching puberty, or who consistently observes a fixed pattern, is called mu’tadah.1,2,3 The term “habit” here refers both to menstruation (hayz) and postpartum bleeding (nifas).
For example, if a woman sees 3 days of bleeding and 15 days of purity, both her menstruation and purity cycles become established as a habit. Future rulings are based on this established pattern. More detailed information can be found in our article on Istihaza .
Similarly, if after childbirth she experiences 34 days of postpartum bleeding and no additional bleeding within 40 days, her nifas habit is established as 34 days. If in a later childbirth the bleeding exceeds 40 days, the previous habit of 34 days is taken as the basis, and she is considered in nifas only until day 34. Worship (such as missed prayers and obligatory fasts) after that period must be made up. If the bleeding differs but remains within 40 days, the nifas habit changes according to the observed duration.
Mubtadi’ah (Woman Experiencing Menstruation for the First Time)
A woman who experiences menstruation or postpartum bleeding for the first time is called mubtadi’ah.4,5,6 A girl reaches puberty either through her first menstruation or childbirth. The minimum valid age according to the stronger view is nine years.
For a girl experiencing menstruation for the first time, any bleeding between 3 and 10 days is considered menstruation. Any bleeding beyond 10 days is considered irregular bleeding (istihaza). Until she establishes a habit with repeated cycles under 10 days, her default menstruation period is considered 10 days.
Mudillah (Woman Who Has Forgotten Her Habit)
A woman who has forgotten her menstrual habit is called mudillah, dallah, or mutahayyirah. It is obligatory for women to preserve their menstrual records, even by writing or memorization.7,8,9
If a woman forgets her habit due to illness, fainting, or negligence in religious matters and then experiences continuous bleeding (persistent bleeding), the following applies:
If she has even a weak inclination regarding her habit:
- She must investigate and determine her habit based on strong presumption, similar to someone determining the qibla direction in prayer.
- If she believes she is in menstruation based on her judgment, she leaves prayer.
If she believes she is in a state of purity, she performs wudu for each prayer time and prays. - If she is uncertain between menstruation and purity, she performs ghusl for each prayer time and prays.10
If she has no stronger inclination, it becomes obligatory to act with precaution. In this case, no fixed numerical habit can be assigned. The mudillah woman:11
- Performs ghusl for each prayer time and prays.
- May not enter the mosque.
- May not perform tawaf, except for the obligatory visit tawaf.
- Must repeat the visit tawaf after 10 days.
- Performs the farewell tawaf but does not repeat it.
- May not touch the Qur’an directly.
- May not have sexual relations with her spouse.
- May not perform voluntary (nafl) prayers.
- May not observe voluntary fasting.
- May perform obligatory, wajib, and confirmed sunnah prayers.
- In obligatory prayers, she recites only the first two rak‘ahs fully; in other rak‘ahs she recites short surahs other than Al-Fatiha.
- She may recite qunut supplications in witr prayer. She must continue fasting Ramadan without interruption.
Regarding missed prayers, it is better to consult a scholar, as the calculation of make-up prayers for a woman who has lost her menstrual habit is highly detailed. Due to concerns about confusion, further detail is not provided here.
And Allah knows best.
1 Ahmet Mahmut ÜNLÜ, Faith and Islam Catechism (Istanbul: Tuana Publishing, 2015), 238
2 Ahmet Mahmut ÜNLÜ, Treatise on Women’s Conditions (Istanbul: Tuana Publishing, 2015), 17
3 Imam Birgivi, Conditions Specific to Women, trans. Hüsamettin VANLIOĞLU, Fatih KALENDER, Abdullah HİÇDÖNMEZ and Emin Ali YÜKSEL (Istanbul: İsmailağa Publishing, 2024), 38
4 ÜNLÜ, Faith and Islam Catechism, 238
5 ÜNLÜ, Treatise on Women’s Conditions, 18
6 Birgivi, Conditions Specific to Women, 36
7 ÜNLÜ, Faith and Islam Catechism, 270
8 ÜNLÜ, Treatise on Women’s Conditions, 83
9 Birgivi, Conditions Specific to Women, 79
10 Imam Sarakhsī, al-Mabsūt, ed. Cevat Akşit, vol. 9 (Istanbul: Gümüşev Publications, 2018), 296
11 Birgivi, Conditions Specific to Women, 82
