Al-Baqarah: (222) And they ask you about menstruation...

(And they ask you about menstruation) Imam Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawood, Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, and others narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with them) that the Jews, when a woman among them was menstruating, would expel her from the house, would not eat with her, would not drink with her, and would not associate with her in the houses. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was asked about this, so Allah revealed this verse. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) then said: "Associate with them in the houses, and do everything except intercourse." According to Al-Suddi, the one who asked about this was Thabit ibn al-Dahdah (may Allah be pleased with him).

The sentence is conjoined to what preceded it, similar to itself. The manner of its relevance to what preceded is that when He forbade marrying polytheists and encouraged marrying people of faith, He clarified a great rule among the rules of marriage, which is the rule of intercourse during menstruation. Perhaps the narration of these three questions with the conjunction [is used] because they all occurred at one customary time, which is the time of the question regarding "wine and gambling." It is as if it were said: "They combine for you the question about those two and the question about such and such." The narration of the others without a conjunction [is used] because they were at separate times, so each one was an initial question, and the intent was not to combine them, but rather to inform about each one separately; hence, the waw was not brought between them.

The author of Al-Intisaf, in explaining the conjunction and the omission, said: "The first of the conjoined [questions] is the same as the first of the separate ones, but its answer was given first regarding the expenditure because it is the most important, even though the one asked about was the spender, not the direction of expenditure. Then, since the first answer did not explicitly state the one asked about, the question was repeated so that they would be answered explicitly regarding the one asked about, which is the 'surplus' (al-'afw). Thus, it was necessary to conjoin it so that it would be linked to the first. As for the second question of the conjoined ones, it was regarding the conditions of the orphans and whether it is permissible to mix with them in expenditure and residence; so it had relevance to expenditure, considering that when they mixed with them, they spent upon them. Therefore, it was conjoined to the question of expenditure. As for the third question, since it included the separation from menstruation, it was appropriate to conjoin it to what preceded it because of what it contains regarding the clarification of what they used to do of separating from the orphans."

If you consider the questions separate from the waw, you will find no proximity or connection between them at all; for the first of them is about expenditure, the second about fighting in the "sacred month," and the third about "wine and gambling." Between them is a disparity and disconnection that is not hidden. Thus, they were mentioned in a disconnected, interrupted manner, not linked one to another. This is among the wonders of expression that you will not find except in the Dear Book.

I do not see the heart finding tranquility in [that explanation], as is not hidden to one who has achieved knowledge of what we have mentioned, so contemplate.

Al-Mahid (menstruation), as Al-Zajjaj said—and the majority follow him—is the verbal noun (masdar) of the woman's menstruating (hadat al-mar’atu tahidu haidan wa mahadan), so it is like al-maji' (coming) and al-mabit (staying the night). Its root is flowing; it is said: "The flood flowed (hada) and overflowed (fada)." Al-Azhari said: "From this, the hawd (basin) is called a basin because water flows (yahidu) into it, meaning it flows." The Arabs insert the waw before the ya because they are of the same class. It is said that it is here a noun of place, and it is attributed to Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them). Al-Wahidi narrated from Ibn al-Sikkit that if the verb is of the three-letter type, like kala yakilu (to measure) and hada yahidu (to menstruate), the noun of place from it is with a kasra [on the root letter], and the verbal noun from it is with a fatha. Others narrated from others the option in such a case; indeed, it is said that the kasra and the fatha are permissible in the noun of time, place, and the verbal noun.

According to what is attributed to the translator [Ibn Abbas] and chosen by the Imam, a deletion is required in His saying—Exalted be He—"Say, it is harm," meaning: a place of harm. Likewise, the consideration of time is required in His saying—Glorified be He—due to the weakness of the attribution and the strength of the motive for the estimation, and its absence is better. It was only described as "harm" and the ruling was arranged upon it with the fa (therefore/so), without being content in the answer with the command, to signify that it is the cause, and the reasoned ruling is more impactful on the soul.

"And do not approach them until they are pure." This is a confirmation for the previous ruling, because the command to separate entails the prohibition of approaching, and vice versa; thus, each of them is a confirmation, even if they differ in conceptual meaning. Hence, one was conjoined to the other. In it is a clarification of its limit, for restricting the separation with His saying—Exalted be He—"in menstruation" and its arrangement upon its being "harm" benefits the specification of the prohibition to that time, and it is understood from it rationally that it ceases afterward, though the wording does not indicate this explicitly, unlike "until they are pure." The limit is the cessation of blood according to Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah be pleased with him); so if the cessation is for the maximum duration of menstruation, approaching becomes permissible immediately upon cessation. If it is for less than that, it does not become permissible except with performing ghusl (ritual bath) or what is in its ruling, such as the passing of a prayer time. According to the Shafi'is, it is the ghusl after the cessation. They said: "The recitation of Hamza, Al-Kisa'i, and Asim—in the narration of Ibn Ayyash—'yattahhirna' (with the tashdid) indicates it explicitly, meaning: they perform ghusl." What is meant is that they perform ghusl, not because ghusl is the literal meaning of purification, as some of their expressions might suggest—for its usage in other than ghusl is common in the Glorious Speech and the hadiths, as is not hidden to the researcher—but because from the intensive form, complete purity is derived, and the complete purity for women from menstruation is the ghusl. When the recitation with tashdid indicated that the limit of the prohibition of approaching is the ghusl, and the origin in the recitations is compatibility, the recitation with takhfif (lightening) was carried upon it. Indeed, it may be claimed that tuhur (purity) also indicates ghusl according to the language; for in Al-Qamus: "A woman is tahurat (pure)" means her blood has ceased and she has performed ghusl from menstruation, just as tatahhurat. Also, His saying—Exalted be He—"So when they have purified themselves, then come unto them" indicates by implication that the limit is the ghusl, because it requires the delay of the permissibility of coming [to them] until after the washing. Thus, it strengthens that the meaning of the recitation of takhfif is washing, not cessation. Perhaps it is a context for the figurative use of "purity" by carrying it upon ghusl, if what preceded is not conceded. And on the assumption of not conceding this or that, and returning to the statement that the recitation of takhfif is from tuhr (purity), which is literal for the cessation of blood and nothing else, and there is no metaphor or context, and the recitation of tashdid is from tatahhur (to purify oneself), from which ghusl is derived—it is also said in the way of reconciliation, as in Al-Kashf: "The recitation with tashdid is to clarify the complete limit, and with takhfif to clarify the incomplete one." "Hatta" (until) in verbs is like "ila" (to) in that it does not require the inclusion of what comes after it; thus, the complete [limit] is absolute, and its explanation is that the complete limit is what is a limit in all its parts, which is what is excluded from the delimited, and the incomplete is what is a limit considering its end. "Hatta" when entering upon nouns requires the inclusion of what follows it were it not for the limit, but when entering upon verbs, like "ila," it does not require that what follows it be part of what precedes it. Thus, the cessation of blood is a limit to the prohibition considering its end, so the time of cessation is included in it, and the ghusl is a limit to it considering its beginning, so there is no conflict between the two recitations. Perhaps the benefit of stating both limits is to clarify the ranks of the prohibition of approaching, for it is more severe before the cessation than after it. When our masters, the Hanafis, saw that there are two recitations here, takhfif and tashdid, and that the consequence of the first is the end of the prohibition incidental to permissibility upon the cessation of blood absolutely—so if the incidental prohibition ends, it becomes permissible by necessity—and that the consequence of the second is that it does not end according to them, but rather after the ghusl; and they saw that tuhr (purity), when attributed to a woman, does not indicate ghusl linguistically, but rather its meaning therein is the cessation of blood—which is what is narrated from Ibn Abbas and Mujahid; and in Taj al-Bayhaqi: tahurat is the opposite of tamthat (to be menstruating); and in Shams al-'Ulum: "A woman is tahir (pure) without a ha" means her blood has ceased; and in Al-Asas: "A woman is tahir and women are tawahir who have purified from menstruation"—this is not contradicted by what is in Al-Qamus, as it is possible that it is a clarification of usage, even if figuratively, according to his method in many words. Carrying it upon ghusl as a metaphor without a specific context is not correct. Considering "So when they have purified themselves, then come unto them" as a context based on what they mentioned is nothing, and what they mentioned regarding the way of indication from implication has debate in it, because the fa entering upon a sentence that is not suitable to be a condition, like an imperative sentence, is for mere connection, as Ibn Hisham established in Al-Muqni' and illustrated with His saying—Exalted be He—"Say, if you love Allah, then follow me." Even if conceded, the requirement is the delay of the permissibility of coming until after the washing in general, not absolutely, so that it would be a context that what is intended by the recitation of takhfif is also the washing. That the claim that one of the two limits is included in the ruling and the other is excluded is against the obvious, they needed to reconcile by making each of them an independent verse, so they carried the first upon cessation at the maximum duration and the second upon the completion of the habit which is not the maximum duration of menstruation, just as Ibrahim al-Nakha'i carried the recitation of nasb (accusative) and jarr (genitive) in "your feet" upon the state of takhfif (lightening) and its absence. This is appropriate because in the pausing of approaching her upon the cessation for the maximum duration until the washing, there is an assertion of her being menstruating legally, which is contradictory to the ruling of the Shari'ah because of the obligation of prayer upon her, which entails an assertion of her being pure legally, unlike the completion of the count; for the Shari'ah did not cut it off for her by purity, but menstruation is permissible after it. Therefore, if it increased and did not exceed ten, the whole is menstruation by agreement. It remains that the requirement of the second is the establishment of the prohibition before the washing, so lifting the prohibition before it by the passing of the first time of prayer—I mean its minimum which occurs last—and considering the washing a ruling according to what they said is opposing the text with meaning. The answer is that the second recitation was specified by the first recitation regarding the case of cessation at ten; so it is permissible to specify it a second time by meaning, as some of the verifiers said. The ease and precaution in the Imam's school is not hidden. It was narrated from Al-Awza'i that the permissibility of coming is suspended upon purification, and he interpreted it as washing the place of menstruation. It is sometimes said that cleansing the site is purification; for Al-Bukhari, Muslim, and Al-Nasa’i narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that a woman asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah be pleased with him) about her washing from menstruation, so he commanded her before she washed and said: "Take a piece of musk and purify yourself with it." She said: "How do I purify myself with it?" He said: "Purify yourself with it." She said: "How?" He said: "Glory be to Allah, purify yourself with it." So I pulled her and said: "Follow with it the trace of the blood." Tawus and Mujahid went in a narration from him that washing the site along with ablution is sufficient for the permissibility of coming, and the Imamis went to this. It is not hidden that none of that is complete purification for women, but it is complete purification for their limbs, and it is contrary to what is obvious in the verse. What is obvious is the first. What is in the hadith, even if it was a command to purify for that woman, the intent behind that is exaggeration in purifying the site, except that for some reason he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) did not state it explicitly. Attributing purification to the cleansing of the site is something we do not deny; we only deny attributing "they purify" to those who have purified their sites of menstruation, and without proving that, it is the menstruation of men.

It was argued from the verse that it is not forbidden to enjoy [the company of] the menstruating woman between the navel and the knee; only intercourse is forbidden. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked, in what Ibn Jarir narrated, what is permissible for a man from his wife if she is menstruating, and she said: "Everything except intercourse." A group went to the prohibition of enjoyment between the navel and the knee, arguing from what Malik narrated from Zayd ibn Aslam that a man asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and said: "What is permissible for me from my wife while she is menstruating?" He (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said to him: "Let her tighten her garment upon herself, then it is your business with what is above it." It is as if it is a matter of blocking the means in general, and that is why it was narrated in what Imam Ahmad narrated that abstinence from that is better. The command in the verse is for permissibility on the level of "When you have completed the rites, then hunt." So it contains the permissibility of coming, but it is restricted by His saying—Glorified be He—"from where Allah has commanded you," meaning: from the place that Allah, Exalted be He, has commanded you to avoid due to the accidental harm, which is the private part. And do not transgress [to] other than it; this was said by Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Qatada, and Al-Rabi'. Al-Zajjaj said: "Its meaning is from the directions in which it is permissible to approach the woman, and do not approach them from where it is not permissible, such as if they are fasting, in a state of ihram, or in i'tikaf (seclusion)." It was supported that if He intended the private part, it would be [as] min (from) [preposition], so it would be explicit therein, because coming in the sense of intercourse is usually transitive with bi (by/with), not min (from). Perhaps it is in the range of prohibition according to the people of the first statement.

"Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant," from what one might rarely commit of sins, such as coming [during] menstruation, which causes leprosy in the offspring as narrated in the report, and [which is] a caller for the punishment of Allah, Exalted be He. Imam Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhi, and Al-Nasa’i narrated from Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that he said: "Whoever comes to a menstruating woman has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)." This flows in the course of intimidation, so it does not conflict with what Al-Tabarani narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that he said: "A man came to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, I had intercourse with my wife while she was menstruating,' and the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) commanded him to free a slave, and the value of the slave at that time was a dinar." This is if the coming was at the beginning of menstruation and the blood was red; as for if it was at its end and the blood was yellow, he should give charity of half a dinar, as indicated by the narrations.

"And He loves those who purify themselves," meaning: those who keep away from immoralities and filth, such as intercourse with a menstruating woman and coming [to her] from other than where Allah has commanded. Carrying purification upon keeping away is what rhetoric demands, and it is a metaphor according to what is in Al-Asas and Shams al-'Ulum. From 'Ata is carrying it upon purification with water. Both sentences are an independent tailpiece to what preceded.