Key points
- Haiz: menstruation of 3 to 10 days after at least 15 days of purity. Prayer and fasting stop.
- Nifas: bleeding after childbirth, up to 40 days, with no minimum. Prayer and fasting stop.
- Istihaza: any bleeding outside those limits. Prayer and fasting continue.
Three kinds of bleeding, three sets of rulings
Islamic law separates the bleeding a woman experiences into three categories, because each one has different consequences for her worship and her marriage:
| Haiz (حیض) | Nifas (نفاس) | Istihaza (استحاضہ) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Menstruation | Bleeding after childbirth | Bleeding that is neither haiz nor nifas |
| Length | 3 to 10 days | Up to 40 days, no minimum | Any length |
| Prayer | Not prayed, not made up | Not prayed, not made up | Prayed as normal |
| Fasting | Not kept, made up later | Not kept, made up later | Kept as normal |
| Intercourse | Not allowed | Not allowed | Allowed |
| Wudu | Not applicable | Not applicable | Blood breaks wudu; ma'zur rules may apply |
| When it ends | Ghusl | Ghusl | No ghusl needed |
Haiz: the monthly period
Haiz is the blood of a healthy menstrual cycle. In the Hanafi school it lasts at least 3 days and at most 10, and must come after at least 15 days of purity. A girl's first haiz can come from the age of nine lunar years. Bleeding during pregnancy is not haiz. Read how to calculate haiz for the full method.
Nifas: after childbirth
Nifas is the bleeding that follows the birth of a child, or a miscarriage once some of the baby's features had formed. It has a maximum of 40 days and no minimum: if it stops after one day, she makes ghusl and resumes prayer. Blood seen again within the 40 days is still nifas. See how to count nifas.
Istihaza: everything else
Istihaza is blood that cannot be haiz or nifas. Common cases:
- bleeding that stops before 3 days;
- blood beyond 10 days (or beyond your habit when it exceeds 10 days);
- blood beyond 40 days after birth (or beyond your nifas habit);
- blood that starts before 15 days of purity are complete;
- bleeding during pregnancy, and blood seen before the age of nine.
During istihaza a woman prays, fasts and may be intimate with her husband. The bleeding breaks wudu, so she makes a fresh wudu for each prayer; if it is continuous she may be ma'zur. More in our istihaza guide.
Why getting it right matters
Calling istihaza haiz means missing prayers that were obligatory. Calling haiz istihaza means praying and fasting when Allah has excused you, and fasts kept during haiz are not valid. The calculators on this site apply the limits above: start with the Haiz Calculator or the Nifas 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.