Narrated Aishah, Ummul Muminin: Bahiyyah said: I heard a woman asking Aishah about the woman whose menses became abnormal and she had an issue of blood. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked me to advise her that she should consider the period during which she used to menstruate every month, when her menstruation was normal. Then she should count the days equal to the length of time (of her normal menses); then she should abandon prayer during those days or equal to that period. She should then take a bath, tie a cloth on her private parts a pray.

Aishah said: Umm Habibah, daughter of Jahsh and sister-in-law of Messenger of Allah ﷺm and wife of Abdur-Rahman bin Awf, had a prolonged flow of blood for seven years. She inquired from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about it. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: This is not menstruation, but this (due to) a vein. Therefore, wash yourself and pray. Abu Dawud said: In this tradition which is transmitted by al-Zuhri from Urwah and Urwah on the authority of Aishah, al-Awzai added: She (Aishah) said: Umm Habibah daughter of Jahsh and wife of Abdur-Rahman bin Awf had a prolonged flow of blood for seven years. The Prophet ﷺ commander her saying: When the menstruation begins, abandon prayer; when it is finished, take a bath and pray. Abu Dawud said: None of the disciple of al-Zuhri mentioned these words except al-Awzai, from al-Zuhri it has been narrated by Amr bin al-Harith, al-Laith, Yunus, Ibn Abi Dhi'b, Mamar, Ibrahim bin Saad, Sulaiman bin Kathir, Ibn Ishaq and Sufyan bin Uyainah, they did not narrate these words. Abu Dawud said: These are the words of the version reported by Hisham bin Urwah from this father on the authority of Aishah. Abu Dawud said: In this tradition Ibn Uyainah also added the words: He commander her to abandon prayer during her menstrual period. This is a misunderstanding on the part of Ibn Uyainah. The version of this tradition narrated by Muhammad bin Amr from al-Zuhri has the addition similar to that made by al-Awzai in his version.

Narrated Fatimah daughter of Abu Hubaysh: Urwah ibn az-Zubayr reported from Fatimah daughter of Abu Hubaysh that her blood kept flowing, so the Prophet ﷺ said to her: When the blood of the menses comes, it is black blood which can be recognised; so when that comes, refrain from prayer; but when a different type of blood comes, perform ablution and pray, for it is (due only to) a vein. Abu Dawud said: Ibn al-Muthanna narrates this tradition from his book on the authority of Ibn Adi in a similar way. Later on he transmitted it to us from his memory: Muhammad bin Amr reported to us from al-Zuhri from Urwah on the authority of Aishah who said: Fatimah used to have her blood flowing. He then reported the tradition conveying the same meaning. Abu Dawud said: Anas bin Sirin reported from Ibn Abbas about the woman who has a prolonged flow of blood. He said: If she sees thick blood, she should not pray; if she finds herself purified even for a moment, she should was an pray. Makhul said: Menses are not hidden from women. Their blood is black and thick. When it (blackness and thickness) goes away and there appears yellowness and liquidness, that is the flow of blood (from vein). She should wash and pray. Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted by Saeed bin al-Musayyab through a different chain of narrators, saying: The woman who has a prolonged flow of blood should abandon prayer when the menstruation begins; when it is finished, she should wash and pray. Sumayy and others have also reported it from Saeed bin al-Musayyab. This version adds: She should refrain (from prayer) during her menstrual period. Hammad bin Salamah has reported it similarly from Yahya bin Saeed on the authority of Saeed bin al-Musayyab. Abu Dawud said: Yunus has reported from Al-Hasan: When the bleeding of a menstruating woman extends (beyond the normal period), she should refrain (from prayer), after her menses are over, for one or two days. Now she becomes the woman who has a prolonged flow of blood. Al-Taimi reported from Qatadah: If her menstrual period is prolonged by five days, she should pray. Al-Taimi said: I kept on reducing (the number of days) until I reached two days. He said: If the period extends by two days, they will be counted from the menstrual period. When Ibn Sirin was questioned about it, he said: Women have better knowledge of that.

Narrated Hamnah daughter of Jahsh: Hamnah said my menstruation was great in quantity and severe. So I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for a decision and told him. I found him in the house of my sister, Zaynab, daughter of Jahsh. I said: Messenger of Allah, I am a woman who menstruates in great quantity and it is severe, so what do you think about it? It has prevented me from praying and fasting. He said: I suggest that you should use cotton, for it absorbs the blood. She replied: It is too copious for that. He said: Then take a cloth. She replied: It is too copious for that, for my blood keeps flowing. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: I shall give you two commands; whichever of them you follow, that will be sufficient for you without the other, but you know best whether you are strong enough to follow both of them. He added: This is a stroke of the Devil, so observe your menses for six or seven days, Allah alone knows which it should be; then wash. And when you see that you are purified and quite clean, pray during twenty-three or twenty-four days and nights and fast, for that will be enough for you, and do so every month, just as women menstruate and are purified at the time of their menstruation and their purification. But if you are strong enough to delay the noon (Zuhr) prayer and advance the afternoon (Asr) prayer, to wash, and then combine the noon and the afternoon prayer; to delay the sunset prayer and advance the night prayer, to wash, and then combine the two prayers, do so: and to wash at dawn, do so: and fast if you are able to do so if possible. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Of the two commands this is more to my liking. 1 Abu Dawud said: Amr bin Thabit narrated from Ibn Aqil: Hamnah said: Of the two commands this is the one which is more to my liking. 2 In this version these words were not quoted as the statement of the Prophet ﷺ; it gives it as a statement of Hamnah. Abu Dawud said: Amr bin Thabit was a Rafidi. This has been said by Yahya bin Main. Abu Dawud said: I heard Ahmad (b. Hanbal) say: I am doubtful about the tradition transmitted by Ibn Aqil.