What can a woman who is menstruating do on Laylat al-Qadr? (www.islamqa.com)
Mohammad Usman
As-salaamu alaykum wa rahmat-Allaahi wa barakaatuhu
(Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allaah and His blessings).
What can a woman who is
menstruating do on Laylat al-Qadr?
I was wondering what a woman can do on laylat al-qadr if she is menstruating at
that time. Can she earn extra rewards for engaging herself in worship? if so,
what is permissible for her to do so that night?
Praise be to Allaah. A woman who is menstruating may do all acts of worship
apart from praying, fasting, circumambulating the Ka'bah and doing i'tikaaf in
the mosque.
It was narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
used to stay up at night during the last ten nights of Ramadaan. Al-Bukhaari
(2401) and Muslim (1174) narrated that 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with
her) said: "When the last ten nights of Ramadaan came, the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would refrain from marital relations, stay
up at night and wake his family up."
Staying up at night is not only for prayer, rather it includes all kinds of
acts of worship. This is how the scholars interpreted it.
Al-Haafiz said: "Staying up at night" means staying up to do acts of
worship.
Al-Nawawi said: spending the night staying up to pray etc.
He said in 'Awn al-Ma'bood: i.e., in prayer, dhikr and reciting the Qur'aan.
Praying qiyaam is the best act of worship that a person can do on Laylat
al-Qadr. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"Whoever spends the night of Laylat al-Qadr in prayer out of faith and in
hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven." (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 1901; Muslim, 760).
Because the woman who is menstruating is not allowed to pray, she can spend the
night in doing other acts of worship apart from prayer, such as:
1- Reading or reciting Qur'aan.
Pls refer to this link for more detail:http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/2564
2- Dhikr – such as saying Subhaan-Allaah, La ilaaha illa-Allaah, al-Hamdu
Lillaah, etc. She can repeat the words "Subhaan-Allaah wa'l-hamdu Lillaah,
wa laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, wa Allaahu akbar (Glory be to Allaah, praise be to
Allaah, there is no god but Allaah and Allaah is Most Great)" and
"Subhaan Allaah wa bi hamdihi, subhaan Allaah il-'Azeem (Glory and praise
be to Allaah, glory be to Allaah the Almighty)" etc.
3- Istighfaar (praying for forgiveness), by repeating the phrase
"Astaghfir-Allaah (I ask Allaah for forgiveness)."
4- Du'aa' (supplication) – she can pray to Allaah and ask Him for what is good
in this world and in the Hereafter, for du'aa' is one of the best acts of
worship. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
"Du'aa' is 'ibaadah (worship)." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2895;
classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2370).
The woman who is menstruating can do these acts of worship and others on Laylat
al-Qadr.
We ask Allaah to help us to do that which He loves and which pleases Him. May
Allaah accept our righteous deeds.
Website Created By: Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
Source: < www.islamqa.com >
Brother-in-faith,
Mohammed Usman
Jeddah-Saudi Arabia
He whom death overtakes while he is engaged in acquiring knowledge with a view to reviving Islam with the help of it, there will be one degree between him and the Prophets in Paradise.’
< Al-Tirmidhi Hadith # 249; Narrated: Al-Hasan Al-Basri ® >