Key points
- Blood that returns within 40 days of the birth is nifas (relied-upon position).
- Blood that starts after day 40 is haiz only if at least 15 days of purity separate it from the nifas and it lasts 3 to 10 days.
- Otherwise it is istihaza: pray and fast.
Why this question is common
After birth, bleeding often eases, stops for some days and returns. Mothers are left unsure whether to pray. The answer depends on two things: whether the blood returned before or after day 40, and how long you were clean before it came back.
If it returns before day 40
It is still nifas. Stop praying again. Everything from the birth until the last blood within the 40 days is nifas, including the clean days in between. The prayers you prayed while clean remain valid; fasts kept on those days are made up.
If the returning blood continues past day 40, the 40 days (or your previous nifas habit) are nifas and the rest is istihaza.
A second view: some Hanafi scholars treat a clean gap of 15 days or more inside the 40 days as ending the nifas, so the blood after it is judged as haiz. Follow the view of the scholars you rely on.
If it returns after day 40
The new bleeding can be haiz only if:
- at least 15 days of purity passed between the end of the nifas and the new blood; and
- it lasts at least 3 days.
If it lasts more than 10 days, your haiz habit is haiz and the rest istihaza. If the purity was shorter than 15 days, the clean gap is not counted as purity: the whole span is treated as one bleeding from the birth, so nifas is 40 days (or your previous nifas habit) and the rest is istihaza.
Bleeding that never stops after 40 days
If you bleed continuously past day 40, the days after the nifas are istihaza. Once the istihaza after nifas has lasted as long as your usual purity, your normal haiz habit is counted again. Because these cases get detailed quickly, ask a scholar with your dates.
Worked examples
A. Bled 20 days, clean 10, bled 5 more. All 35 days are nifas.
B. Bled 30 days, clean 12, bled 5. A clean gap under 15 days is not purity, so the whole span counts as one bleeding that runs past day 40. For a first birth, days 1 to 40 are nifas and days 41 to 47 are istihaza; fasts kept in the clean days that fell inside the 40 are made up.
C. Bled 30 days, clean 20, bled 6. Nifas was 30 days, purity 20, then 6 days of haiz.
Try your own dates in the Nifas & Haiz Overlap Calculator.
This guide is educational and follows mainstream Hanafi positions. For your own situation, please consult a qualified scholar. See the disclaimer, the glossary and how rulings are worked out.