WOMEN: Taking Pills In Hajj to stop Menstruation

[ummtaalib]

Question:

 

1)     A sister is going for Hajj, she wants to know if she is allowed to take the contraceptive pills? There are many different opinions, from my little research I found that she is allowed to take.

2)     When she does take these pills. Everything is in the qudrat of Allah, as pills have no power… so because of the pills sometimes the side effect happens in which spots of blood might become visible (as heard from other people).  So what is the ruling of that? Like how about she starts to see few spots of blood then it goes away. Will she be a person with istihaaza?

3)     After Hajj she will be travelling to Turkey so is she allowed to continue to take the pill or does she only take the pills during Hajj time and stop thereafter?

4)     If she does go to Turkey and stops the pills and gets her haiz is she still allowed to enter the mosques to see them as in the tour whilst avoiding the women’s prayer area.

5)     Can a woman perform her Salaah without burkha as in the whole head covering which is from the head to the knees… or can she still perform her salaah with a scarf that covers her hair and she wears long sleeves and makes sure her ankles are covered.

 

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

 

1)     A woman should not interfere with her natural monthly cycle. However, in order to overcome some unavoidable challenges especially during Hajj, there is a leeway for her to use contraceptive pills.[1]

2)     Contraceptive pills are known to have many side effects including spotting or breakthrough bleeding which generally occurs in between periods.[2] If the spotting occurs during the usual monthly period, then it will be considered as Haiz and she will have to wait until her period is over in order perform Tawaaf-e-Ziyaarah – which is a compulsory act of Hajj – if she has not already done so. If the spotting occurs after the normal monthly cycle, then it will be Istihaza.

3)     We advise against the use of contraceptive pills when there is no dire need to do so.

4)     A woman in Haiz can not enter the Masjid proper.[3] However, she may enter those parts of the Masaajid which are not included in the boundaries of both the male and female prayer areas.

5)     It is necessary for a woman to cover her entire body in Salaah apart from her face, hands and feet.[4] Therefore, she may perform Salaah wearing a scarf. However, the outline of her body should not be clearly visible as this defeats the purpose of covering the body.

 

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

 

Checked and Approved by,

Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

idealwoman.org

[ummtaalib]

Question:

Can I take a contraceptive pill to prevent my period during Hajj? As the doctor told me that the pill may not completely stop the bleeding, it may cause some spotting.

 

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

 

Sister in Islam,

It is a well known fact that the use of contraceptive pills is not free from harmful side effects. It is also well known that woman performing Hajj face challenges with their menstrual cycle, especially in view of her departure flight and performing Tawaf-al-ziyarat, which is a compulsory act of hajj.

 

Since every woman has a different cycle and every woman knows her cycle best, it is impractical to offer a general recommendation on the use of contraceptive pills. We advise you consult your gynecologist and act accordingly. You should plan your journey, especially your departure from Makkah Mukarramah in such a way that you have sufficient time to perform your Tawaf-al-ziyarat.

 

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

 

Checked and Approved by,

Mufti Ebrahim Desai.