Islamic terms you should know

Hayd is the Arabic term for menstruation. In Islamic fiqh, it describes menstrual bleeding with particular rules for prayer and fasting. Not every episode of vaginal bleeding is hayd: istihadha is non-menstrual bleeding, while nifas refers to bleeding after childbirth.

Istihadha (also spelled istihadah) is bleeding classified in Islamic fiqh as neither hayd nor nifas. It does not carry the same exemption from prayer and fasting as menstruation. The label describes a worship classification, not a medical diagnosis or the cause of the bleeding.

Nifas is postpartum bleeding, the blood that comes after childbirth. Like hayd, nifas carries its own set of worship rulings: a woman in nifas does not pray or fast until the bleeding stops and she performs ghusl. Nifas has a maximum duration that varies by madhab but no universally agreed minimum, meaning even a small amount of bleeding after delivery counts.

Tuhr means purity or cleanliness in Arabic. In fiqh related to menstruation, tuhr refers to the clean period between two cycles of hayd, when a woman is free from menstrual bleeding and has full worship obligations. Recognizing when tuhr begins is what tells a woman to perform ghusl and resume her prayers.

Ghusl is the full-body ritual washing used to leave a state of major ritual impurity. After hayd or nifas ends, it is required before resuming prayer. Fasting has a different rule: delaying the bath does not by itself invalidate a fast, but the bleeding must have legally ended and the fasting conditions must be met. Ghusl is also required in other circumstances, including after sexual intercourse.

Qada means fulfilling an obligation after its appointed time has passed. Here it refers to making up Ramadan fasts missed because of hayd or nifas: one make-up day for each missed day. Prayers missed because of menstruation are not made up. The rules for delaying fasts, and for other reasons for not fasting, need separate consideration.

Fidyah is a compensatory payment made when a Muslim cannot fast and cannot make up the fast later, or when qada fasts are delayed beyond the next Ramadan without a valid excuse. It typically involves feeding one poor person for each missed day of fasting. Fidyah is distinct from kaffara, which is a penalty for deliberately breaking a fast without a valid reason.

A madhab (also written madhhab) is a school of Islamic jurisprudence, or fiqh. The four established Sunni schools are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali. Each has a developed method for understanding the Quran and Sunnah and applying them to questions of worship and daily life. This page introduces those schools; it is not a guide to every Islamic legal tradition.