Menses and women

Question

Can a woman go to the mosque while on her period?

Bottom Line

Passing through is allowed if there is no risk of impurity. Learning can be done from outside areas where the sound reaches.

Quick Answer

Menstruation suspends salah. The majority of jurists do not permit a menstruating woman to sit or stay in the mosque. Passing through is allowed when needed and when cleanliness is certain. Attending halaqahs should be from outside the prayer hall or from rooms that are not part of the mosque’s sanctified area if the sound reaches.

Key Takeaways

• No staying in the mosque during menses.
• Passing through is allowed if clean and necessary.
• Learning is from outside areas, corridors, or annex rooms if the sound reaches.
• Reading Qur’an is allowed without touching the mushaf. Touching tafsir books is permitted when tafsir content predominates.

Detailed Answer

The majority view prohibits staying in the mosque while menstruating, based on evidences that tie presence in the prayer place to ritual purity and on the instruction for menstruating women to keep away from the prayer area during Eid while still participating by listening from the side Bukhari 324. Passing through the mosque is allowed when necessary and when there is no risk of impurity, in line with the verse about not approaching prayer in a state of major impurity except while passing through Qur’an 4:43.

For lessons and talks, she should sit in a place outside the sanctified prayer area if the sound is reached by a loudspeaker, or use annex rooms that are not treated as part of the mosque. This preserves participation without violating the rule on staying in the mosque.

Reading the Qur’an during menses is permitted without touching the mushaf. She may use a device or recite from memory. Touching a tafsir volume is allowed when the explanatory text outweighs the verses, because the ruling follows the predominant content.

What This Means for You

Pause salah until purity returns. Do not sit or stay in the mosque. You may pass through if clean and necessary. Join lessons from outside areas or annex rooms where the sound can be heard. Read or listen to the Qur’an without touching the mushaf, or use tafsir books where commentary predominates.

And Allah knows best.

References

Primary Sources

Qur’an

1. An-Nisa 4:43 Not to approach prayer while in a state of major impurity, except when passing through.
2. Al-Baqarah 2:222 Guidance related to menstruation and restraint from certain acts of worship.

Hadith

3. Sahih al-Bukhari 324 Menstruating women attend Eid but keep away from the prayer place while listening to the khutbah.
4. Sahih al-Bukhari (example report). Evidence used by jurists to maintain the purity of the prayer area and participation from outside.

Secondary Sources

5. Standing Committee rulings on passing through vs. staying, and attending via external areas when sound reaches.
6. Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, Fatawa at-Taharah, on the prohibition of staying, allowance to pass through, and listening from outside; and on touching tafsir when its commentary predominates.
7. Classical fiqh works: Al-Mabsut (Sarakhsi), Hashiyat ad-Dusuqi, Al-Majmu‘ (Nawawi), Al-Mughni (Ibn Qudamah) on the majority view regarding the mosque during menses.