Is the bleeding of a menopausal woman counted as menstruation (Haidh)?

Q. I have a question to ask regarding the masla on menopause. If a woman’s menstrual cycle lasted 3 days during her normal days of haidh and she still continues to bleed for 3 days even for 1 month after attaining her age of 55 lunar years, will this be construed as haidh or istihaaza?

A. The minimum period of a valid menstruation/haidh is three days. The maximum is ten days. Hence, if a woman bleeds for three days, her menstruation/haidh will be three days.

In the case of a menopausal woman bleeding, if she bleeds one Month etc. after the menopausal age of fifty five lunar years (approximately 53 years and 4 months) according to the solar calendar), the bleeding would be considered to be menstruation/haidh on condition that the blood color is the same as the blood color of menstruation/haidh experienced prior to the menopausal age of menstruation.

For e.g. the blood color prior to the menopausal age of menstruation/haidh was red and it is also red after the menopausal age of menstruation/haidh. In such a case, it would be considered menstruation/haidh. (Shaami 1/304)

Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

Mufti Ismaeel Bassa

themufti.com