If, however, it was intermittent, so much so that she could...

If, however, it was intermittent, so much so that she could perform ghusl and say one or more prayers before the bleeding resumes, [she must renew ghusl after bleeding recurs. If, for example, she had a ghusl for Dhuhr prayer and bleeding resumed before or during Asr prayer, she must have another ghusl for it]. However, if the interval between any two appearances of blood was long enough to perform two or more prayers, it is permissible without the need for a new ghusl.

This applies to major istihadha. In a medium istihadha, she must do wudhu for each prayer [and ghusl once a day before the first wudhu]. * Could you give me an example? - Before Subh prayer, a woman discovered that she had istihadha. Upon checking, she ascertained that it was a medium one, she must [do ghusl] and perform wudhu for Subh. The ghusl that she carried out should suffice for the whole of that day, provided she does wudhu for every prayer.

Come a second or a third day, she must do the whole procedure again. That is, if no change has occurred as to the type of istihadha. * Does the istihadha change from one type to another? - Yes, it may change. A major istihadha could turn into a minor one, and vice versa. * How would a woman know that her istihadha has changed? - [She must check for the blood before every prayer] and act according to the degree of istihadha, be it minor, medium, or major.

* Should she change the towels she uses during the istihadha? - Yes, if they were of the disposable type. If not, they should be washed, for every prayer when the istihadha is minor or medium. Should it be a major one [she must change them, if it was possible] and take extra precaution against blood coming out for the period from the ghusl to the end of prayer, provided that such a precaution does not entail any harm to her wellbeing. * Should she embark on prayer as soon as she becomes tahir?

●[Yes.]. * What is the ruling on istihadha? 1. A woman in a state of istihadha must become tahir, for prayer, as soon as the bleeding stops by way of wudhu, if istihadha was minor or medium, and through ghusl, if it was major. 2. It is not permissible for a woman in a state of istihadha to touch the writing of the Holy Qur’an. It is permissible, however, to do so after she becomes tahir. 3. In the case of divorce, it is permissible to pronounce a woman, in a state of istihadha, divorced. 4.

✦ ✦ ✦