The ghusl and the prayer of a woman who is suffering prolonged vaginal bleeding (istihadah)

'A'isha reported: Fatimah b. Abu Hubaish came to the Apostle ﷺ and said: I am a woman whose blood keeps flowing (even after the menstruation period). I am never purified;
should I, therefore, abandon prayer? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Not at all, for that is only a vein, and is not a menstruation, so when menstruation comes, abandon prayer, and when it ends wash the blood from yourself and then pray.

وَحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، وَأَبُو كُرَيْبٍ قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ جَاءَتْ فَاطِمَةُ بِنْتُ أَبِي حُبَيْشٍ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَقَالَتْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي امْرَأَةٌ أُسْتَحَاضُ فَلاَ أَطْهُرُ أَفَأَدَعُ الصَّلاَةَ فَقَالَ " لاَ إِنَّمَا ذَلِكِ عِرْقٌ وَلَيْسَ بِالْحَيْضَةِ فَإِذَا أَقْبَلَتِ الْحَيْضَةُ فَدَعِي الصَّلاَةَ وَإِذَا أَدْبَرَتْ فَاغْسِلِي عَنْكِ الدَّمَ وَصَلِّي " .

The hadith narrated by Waki' and with its chain of narrators has been transmitted on the authority of Hisham b. 'Urwa, but in the hadith narrated by Qutaiba on the authority of Jarir, the words are:" There came Fatimah b. Abu Hubaish, b. 'Abd al-Muttalib b. Asad, and she was a woman amongst us," and in the hadith of Hammid b. Zaid there is an addition of these words:" We abandoned mentioning him."

حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ يَحْيَى، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، وَأَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ ح وَحَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا جَرِيرٌ، ح وَحَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ نُمَيْرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي ح، وَحَدَّثَنَا خَلَفُ بْنُ هِشَامٍ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، كُلُّهُمْ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، بِمِثْلِ حَدِيثِ وَكِيعٍ وَإِسْنَادِهِ . وَفِي حَدِيثِ قُتَيْبَةَ عَنْ جَرِيرٍ جَاءَتْ فَاطِمَةُ بِنْتُ أَبِي حُبَيْشِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ بْنِ أَسَدٍ وَهِيَ امْرَأَةٌ مِنَّا . قَالَ وَفِي حَدِيثِ حَمَّادِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ زِيَادَةُ حَرْفٍ تَرَكْنَا ذِكْرَهُ .

'A'isha reported: Umm Habiba b. Jahsh thus asked for a verdict from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: I am a woman whose blood keeps flowing (after the menstrual period). He (the Holy Prophet) said: That is only a vein, so take a bath and offer prayer;
and she took a bath at the time of every prayer. Laith b. Sa'd said: Ibn Shihab made no mention that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had ordered her to take a bath at the time of every prayer, but she did it of her own accord. And in the tradition transmitted by Ibn Rumh there is no mention of Umm Habiba (and there is mention of the daughter of Jahsh only.)

حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا لَيْثٌ، ح وَحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ رُمْحٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا اللَّيْثُ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، أَنَّهَا قَالَتِ اسْتَفْتَتْ أُمُّ حَبِيبَةَ بِنْتُ جَحْشٍ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَقَالَتْ إِنِّي أُسْتَحَاضُ . فَقَالَ " إِنَّمَا ذَلِكِ عِرْقٌ فَاغْتَسِلِي ثُمَّ صَلِّي " . فَكَانَتْ تَغْتَسِلُ عِنْدَ كُلِّ صَلاَةٍ . قَالَ اللَّيْثُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ لَمْ يَذْكُرِ ابْنُ شِهَابٍ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ أَمَرَ أُمَّ حَبِيبَةَ بِنْتَ جَحْشٍ أَنْ تَغْتَسِلَ عِنْدَ كُلِّ صَلاَةٍ وَلَكِنَّهُ شَىْءٌ فَعَلَتْهُ هِيَ . وَقَالَ ابْنُ رُمْحٍ فِي رِوَايَتِهِ ابْنَةُ جَحْشٍ وَلَمْ يَذْكُرْ أُمَّ حَبِيبَةَ .

'A'isha, the wife of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reported: Umm Habiba b. Jahsh who was the sister-in-law of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the wife of 'Abd al-Rahman b. Auf, remained mustahada for seven years, and she, therefore, asked for the verdict of Shari'ah from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about it The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: This is not menstruation, but (blood from) a vein: so bathe yourself and offer prayer. 'A'isha said: She took a bath in the wash-tub placed in the apartment of her sister Zainab b. Jahsh, till the redness of the blood came over the water. Ibn Shihab said: I narrated it to Abu Bakr b. 'Abd al-Rahman b. al-Harith b. Hisham about it who observed: May Allah have mercy on Hinda! would that she listened to this verdict. By Lord, she wept for not offering prayer.

وَحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ الْمُرَادِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ وَهْبٍ، عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْحَارِثِ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ، وَعَمْرَةَ بِنْتِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، زَوْجِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ أَنَّ أُمَّ حَبِيبَةَ بِنْتَ جَحْشٍ - خَتَنَةَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَتَحْتَ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ عَوْفٍ - اسْتُحِيضَتْ سَبْعَ سِنِينَ فَاسْتَفْتَتْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِي ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ " إِنَّ هَذِهِ لَيْسَتْ بِالْحَيْضَةِ وَلَكِنَّ هَذَا عِرْقٌ فَاغْتَسِلِي وَصَلِّي " . قَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ فَكَانَتْ تَغْتَسِلُ فِي مِرْكَنٍ فِي حُجْرَةِ أُخْتِهَا زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ جَحْشٍ حَتَّى تَعْلُوَ حُمْرَةُ الدَّمِ الْمَاءَ . قَالَ ابْنُ شِهَابٍ فَحَدَّثْتُ بِذَلِكَ أَبَا بَكْرِ بْنَ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ بْنِ هِشَامٍ فَقَالَ يَرْحَمُ اللَّهُ هِنْدًا لَوْ سَمِعَتْ بِهَذِهِ الْفُتْيَا وَاللَّهِ إِنْ كَانَتْ لَتَبْكِي لأَنَّهَا كَانَتْ لاَ تُصَلِّي .

This hadith has been thus reported by another chain of transmitters: Umm Habiba b. Jahsh came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and she had been a mustahada for seven years, and the rest of the hadith was narrated like that of 'Amr b. al-Harith up to the words:" There came the redness of the blood over water." and nothing was narrated beyond it.

وَحَدَّثَنِي أَبُو عِمْرَانَ، مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ أَخْبَرَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ، - يَعْنِي ابْنَ سَعْدٍ - عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ عَمْرَةَ بِنْتِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ جَاءَتْ أُمُّ حَبِيبَةَ بِنْتُ جَحْشٍ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَكَانَتِ اسْتُحِيضَتْ سَبْعَ سِنِينَ بِمِثْلِ حَدِيثِ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْحَارِثِ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ تَعْلُوَ حُمْرَةُ الدَّمِ الْمَاءَ . وَلَمْ يَذْكُرْ مَا بَعْدَهُ .

The hadith has been narrated by 'A'isha through another chain of transmitters (in these words): I The daughter of jahsh had been mustabida for seven years," and the rest of the hadith is the same (as mentioned above).

وَحَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ عَمْرَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، أَنَّ ابْنَةَ جَحْشٍ، كَانَتْ تُسْتَحَاضُ سَبْعَ سِنِينَ بِنَحْوِ حَدِيثِهِمْ .

On the authority of 'A'isha: Umm Habiba asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the blood (which flows beyond the period of menstruation). 'A'isha said: I saw her wash-tub full of blood. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Remain away (from prayer) equal (to the length of time) that your menses prevented you. After this (after the period of usual courses) bathe yourself and offer prayer.

وَحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ رُمْحٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا اللَّيْثُ، ح وَحَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا لَيْثٌ، عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ أَبِي حَبِيِبٍ، عَنْ جَعْفَرٍ، عَنْ عِرَاكٍ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، أَنَّهَا قَالَتْ إِنَّ أُمَّ حَبِيبَةَ سَأَلَتْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ عَنِ الدَّمِ فَقَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ رَأَيْتُ مِرْكَنَهَا مَلآنَ دَمًا فَقَالَ لَهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ " امْكُثِي قَدْرَ مَا كَانَتْ تَحْبِسُكِ حَيْضَتُكِ ثُمَّ اغْتَسِلِي وَصَلِّي " .