Do menstruating and postpartum women make up missed fasts and prayers?
2026-09-20
F16 · Selected fatwas
Shaykh Ibn Bāz
الشيخ عبد العزيز بن عبد الله بن باز
Original Q&A · Full displayed answer
The full question asks about both fasting and prayer. The answer retains the distinction, the explanation of ease, the requirement to make up fasts before the next Ramadan, and the preference to do so promptly. Its agreement claim is attributed to the scholar.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
يسأل ويقول: هل تقضي الحائض والنفساء الصوم والصلاة؟
الجواب
الحائض والنفساء تقضيان الصوم فقط عند جميع العلماء، أما الصلاة فلا تقضى عند جميع أهل العلم، قالت عائشة -رضي الله عنها-: كنا نؤمر بقضاء الصوم يعني: الحيض كنا نؤمر بقضاء الصوم ولا نؤمر بقضاء الصلاة.
وهذا من رحمة الله وتيسيره -جل وعلا- وإحسانه، أنه أحسن إليهن بوضع الصلاة عنهن؛ لأن الصلاة تتكرر في اليوم والليلة خمس مرات، والحيض قد يبقى معها أسبوعا أو أكثر أو أقل؛ فيشق عليها القضاء، وهكذا النفساء قد تبقى في النفاس أربعين يوما فيشق عليها القضاء، فمن رحمة الله أن أسقط عن الحيض والنفساء الصلاة، فلا تقضي ولا تفعلها، لا تفعلها في حال الحيض والنفاس ولا تقضي، أما الصوم فإنها لا تفعله في حال الحيض والنفاس؛ لكنها تقضي، لا يجوز بها الصوم وهي حائض أو نفساء، ولكن عليهما القضاء، إذا طهرت صامت في رمضان، وتقضي ما عليها بعد رمضان، تقضي ما أفطرت بسبب الحيض، أو النفاس، تقضيه بعد رمضان، ما بين رمضان ورمضان الثاني تقضي بينهما، لها أن تؤخر إلى رجب وشعبان لا بأس، وإذا بادرت فهو أفضل؛ حذرا من العوائق.
نعم.
English translation
English rendering prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited complete Arabic answer; not an official translation.
Original question
He asks: Do menstruating women and women with postpartum bleeding make up missed fasts and prayers?
Answer
Menstruating women and women with postpartum bleeding make up the fasts only, according to all the scholars. They do not make up the prayers, according to all the people of knowledge. Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: “We were instructed to make up the fasts”—meaning those missed during menstruation—“but were not instructed to make up the prayers.”
This is part of Allah’s mercy, ease and kindness, exalted is He. He has shown them kindness by relieving them of prayer, because prayer recurs five times each day and night. Menstruation may last a week, longer or less, making makeup difficult. Likewise, postpartum bleeding may last forty days, making makeup difficult. By Allah’s mercy, He has relieved menstruating and postpartum women of prayer: they neither perform it in that state nor make it up afterwards. They also do not fast while menstruating or experiencing postpartum bleeding, but they make up those fasts. They may not fast in that state, yet both must make the fasts up. When she becomes pure, she fasts during Ramadan, and after Ramadan makes up what she missed because of menstruation or postpartum bleeding. She makes it up between that Ramadan and the next. There is no harm in postponing it until Rajab or Shaban, but doing it sooner is better, as a precaution against obstacles.
Yes.
Source and editorial notes
Official Ibn Bāz website, fatwa 9732
حكم قضاء الحائض والنفساء للصوم والصلاة
Making Up Fasts and Prayers after Menstruation or Postpartum Bleeding
Full original question and entire answer collated; replaces the historical selected excerpt. The entire substantive official question and answer are preserved through the final answer words. Caller introductions remain in the Arabic; wrapped initials are joined with a space. Navigation, related answers, presenter thanks and editorial footnote markers are excluded. Honorific glyphs are expanded to words; spoken wording is retained. Print references are the official site’s locators, not independently collated print scans.