Women of Habit can be divided into 3 categories:
- Women who have a habit of date and duration
- Women who have a habit of date
- Women who have a habit of duration
Scroll down to find which category you may fall into.
Women who have a habit of date and duration
This is a woman who in the last 2 months has seen blood on a particular date and for a fixed duration. When a woman under this category sees blood for 10 days then it is all haidh.
If she sees it for more than 10 days then the blood seen during the days of habit is considered part of her period and the rest is istihadha.
Some Scenarios
Scenario 1: If a woman in the last 2 months has seen blood for 7 days but this month she sees blood for 10 days, what is her duty? In this situation she should consider all 10 days as ‘haidh’. As the flow was not more than 10 days.
Scenario 2: If a woman in the last 2 months has seen blood for 8 days (Her habit is 8 days), but this month she sees blood for 13 days, what is her duty? In this situation, she should consider the first 8 days as ‘haidh’ and the 5 extra days as ‘istihadha’, because the total flow was more than 10 days. When a woman’s menses continues for more than 10 days then the blood seen during the days of her habit is haidh and the rest is istihadha.
Scenario 3: If a woman in the last 2 months has seen blood between the 10th and 18th BUT this month, she saw blood from 7th to 20th, what is her duty? In this situation, she should do the following:
7th to 9th – is istihadha
10th to 18th – is haidh
19th to 20th – is istihadha
Scenario 4: If a woman in the last 2 months has seen blood between the 10th and 18th BUT this month, she saw blood between the 10th and 20th (not including the 20th), then what is her duty? In this situation all 10 days is ‘haidh’, because the flow does not exceed 10 days. This scenario is just like scenario 1.
Women who have a habit of duration
This woman has seen blood for a fixed duration but not for a fixed date in the past 2 months. When a woman under this category sees blood for 10 days (and it has all the signs of haidh) then it is all haidh, but if she sees it for more than 10 days, then blood seen during the days of habit of duration is period and the rest is istihadha.
Some scenarios:
Scenario 1: If a woman in the last two months has seen blood for 8 days BUT this month, she sees it for 13 days, what is her duty? In this situation, she should consider first 8 days as ‘haidh’ and the rest as ‘istihadha’; because she had a habit of 8 days, and this month the flow was more than 10 days.
Scenario 2: If a woman in the last 2 months has seen blood for 8 days, BUT this month she sees it for 10 days, what is her duty? In this situation, she should consider all 10 days as ‘haidh’, as the flow was not more than 10 days.
Women who have a habit of date
This woman has seen blood on a particular date in the past 2 months but has no fixed duration. When a woman under this category sees blood for 10 days (and it has all the signs of haidh) then it is all haidh, but if she sees blood for more than 10 days then she must follow the guidelines below:
- If the blood seen has signs of haidh then the number of days it has the signs of haidh is ‘haidh’, the rest is istihadha.
If the blood has the signs of haidh and the same signs remain for 13 days, then it is as if there were no signs. If the blood has no signs of haidh, and the only way the woman knows it is haidh is because of her habit of time, then she should consult her family, to verify the normal time duration of period experienced by female members of her family. If the majority of the women in her family have similar durations, she should follow their pattern. In this case, the normal duration in the family is considered haidh, and the remaining days is istihadha.
If the family members have different durations and it is hard to determine, then a woman must calculate the first 7 days as part of her menses, and the rest as istihadha.
Note: consulting your family for the number of days means to ask your mother, sisters, paternal aunts and maternal aunts, and grandmothers about their blood cycle (menstruation). Asking about their duration, means to ask how many days do they see blood every month?
Some Scenarios
Scenario 1: This woman since the last 2 months has seen blood on one particular date but her duration varied. This month she saw blood on the same date but the flow went on for 10 days. In this situation all the ten days are considered to be ‘haidh’.
Scenario 2: This woman since the last 2 months has seen blood on one particular date but her duration varied. This month she saw blood on the same date but the flow continued for 13 days. If the blood had all the signs of haidh for 8 days for example, then this woman should consider 8 days as being haidh and the rest as istihadha.
Scenario 3: This woman since the last 2 months has seen blood on one particular date but her duration varied. This month she saw blood on the same date but the flow carried on for 13 days. There were no signs of haidh. In this situation, this woman should consult her family and if for example her family has a habit of 8 days then this woman should consider 8 days as being haidh and 5 days as istihadha.
Scenario 4: This woman since the last 2 months has seen blood on one particular date but her duration varied. This month she saw blood on the same date but the flow carried on for 13 days. There were no signs of haidh. In this situation, this woman should consult her family and if her family has no particular duration, then she should consider 7 days to be haidh and the rest istihadha.
Scenario 5: This woman since the last 2 months has seen blood on one particular date but her duration varied. This month she saw blood on the same date but the flow carried on for 13 days. There were no signs of haidh. In this situation, this woman should consult her family BUT if she has no family, then she should consider 7 days as haidh and the rest istihadha.
