Assalamu alaikum: Due to amedical condition one goes through when pregnant, the use of an IUD was necessary. I read your fatwas about it and this was a dire need. If one uses a hormonal IUD which disturbs the mesturation to where one might spot one time in the day and nothing at the end of the day. or one might spot all day then nothing for 2-3 dys then bleed again for a day or 2. All at different times of the month. Due to breastfeeding 2 kids in 4 yrs there was no period except once which the date is remembered. from all I read that I should give my self a fatwa. since I am breastfeeding now I consider all blood istihada b/c normally I don't get a period when I am breastfeeding. but what about when I stop . Should I consider it a period if it falls within the time of my last period?(knowing I never had a timely period). I would take out the IUD if I can but I have no insurance. and if that is the case then how do I count when it comes for one day then stops for 2 days then comes back again for 2 days? I cannot for the life of me distiguish the different types of blood to maybe help my self with this issue . Jazakum Allah khair

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, we emphasize the seriousness of issuing Fataawa and that a person should not issue a Fatwa for himself if he has no religious knowledge which entitles him to do so; for more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 81816.

The fact that a breastfeeding woman does not usually have menses does not mean that when she sees blood, she automatically rules that it is blood outside her monthly periods. The scholars stated that when a woman sees blood and this coincides with her monthly periods when she is breastfeeding, then it is menses according to the agreement of the scholars as stated by An-Nawawi .

Menses blood is distinguished with its blackish colour, thickness and its bad smell; these are signs to distinguish menses blood from blood outside the monthly periods if the blood discharges continued and lasted more than 15 days, even if this was not on a continuous basis.

If the blood does not exceed this period [15 days], then the entire period of bleeding is menses even if its characteristics differ. However, if it exceeds 15 days and you are unable to distinguish which kind of blood this is with one of the three characteristics which we mentioned, then you should not perform the prayer for the period of days you normally have your menses.

Therefore, if you have blood outside your monthly periods, in a way that the days during which you have blood and the days during which you are pure between these days of irregular bleeding exceed 15 days in total, and you cannot distinguish the kind of blood you have with the three characteristics which we mentioned –and this is what you mentioned your case to be–then you should count your days of menses according to the date of your last period, then if you remember exactly on which date this is and you remember the number of days it lasted, you should not perform the prayer during these days.

If your menses are seven days in the beginning of the month, for example, then you should refrain from the prayer for the entire seven days whether you were bleeding or not starting from the beginning of the month. If the seventh day coincides with the day when you become pure, then this day should be counted as the day you became pure and not as a day of menses. In this case, you should perform Ghusl (ritual bath) and perform the prayer. Any bleeding that you get after this period is bleeding outside the monthly menses. Based on this, you may distinguish between the days of your menses and the days when you become pure.

For more benefit on a woman who has irregular menses, please refer to Fatwa 83621, and to Fatwa 84471 on bleeding from intrauterine device.

Allaah Knows best.