IUD and menstrual cycle
Question
Assalamu Alaikum, I have a question regarding menstruation and irregular bleeding while using a hormonal IUD. I have had a hormonal IUD for about two years. During the first five months after having it inserted, I experienced heavy bleeding every month. After that, my period stopped completely for a while. Now, approximately every month to a month and a half, I sometimes experience light bleeding or spotting. The blood is red. Sometimes it is only a small amount that I notice when wiping with tissue, while other times it is slightly heavier. It usually lasts for about 3–7 days. Sometimes it stops for a day and then starts again the following day. Between these episodes, I have complete dryness for about a month or sometimes longer. Before getting the IUD, my menstrual cycle was regular, and I never had this type of spotting or irregular bleeding. I do not know the exact dates when each episode begins because I have not been keeping track of them. My question is: According to Islamic rulings, should I consider this bleeding to be menstruation (hayd) or irregular bleeding (istihadhah)? Should I stop praying and fasting during these days, or should I continue praying and fasting? Also, if the bleeding stops for one day and then returns, how should I treat those days? Jazakum Allahu Khairan for your help.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salamu alaykum wa-rahmatullahi wa-barakatuh.
Sister in Islam,
You have asked whether the bleeding you experience with the hormonal IUD is to be treated as menstruation or as irregular bleeding, and how to deal with the days on which it stops and returns.
In principle, what counts as menstruation and what counts as irregular bleeding is not determined by the appearance of the blood or by the cause of the bleeding. It is determined by the woman's established menstrual habit, meaning the number of days she used to bleed and the number of days she used to remain pure before the irregularity began. When bleeding becomes irregular, the days of bleeding are measured against that habit. Whatever falls within the habit is menstruation, and whatever falls outside it is irregular bleeding, subject to the limits of a minimum of three days and a maximum of ten days for menstruation and a minimum of fifteen days of purity between two menstruations. A day of dryness within an episode is judged in the same way, according to where it falls relative to the habit.
Accordingly, we are not able to answer your question without knowing your habit and the dates of your bleeding. Your cycle was regular before the IUD, which means you have a habit that can be identified, but you have not told us what it was, and you have not kept track of the episodes since.
We therefore ask you to do the following. Write down, as accurately as you can recall, the dates on which your menstruation began and ended for at least three months before the IUD was inserted. Then record every episode of bleeding or spotting since, with the date it began, the date it ended, and any days of dryness in between. Send all of this to admin@cciri.ca and we will give you a detailed answer that applies to your case.
Allah knows best
Mufti Mirza-Zain Baig
Canadian Centre for Islamic Research and Iftaa · This answer is provided for general guidance.