Read this page in Spanish.
And read Lynn Peril's series about these
and similar booklets!
See more Kotex items: First ad
(1921) - ad 1928 (Sears and Roebuck catalog)
- Lee Miller ads (first real person in amenstrual
hygiene ad, 1928) - Marjorie May's Twelfth Birthday
(booklet for girls, 1928, Australian edition; there are many links here
to Kotex items) - Preparing for Womanhood (1920s,
booklet for girls; Australian edition) - 1920s booklet in Spanish showing
disposal method - box
from about 1969 - "Are you in the know?"
ads (Kotex) (1949)(1953)(1964)(booklet, 1956) -
See more ads on the Ads for Teenagers main page
 
|
 
Religion and Menstruation
Kathleen O'Grady, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and Ida Sitompul,
Purdue University, Indiana, U.S.A.; and others, corresponded about the positions of the Bible and the Koran on menstruation
in the News section of this Web site. (But there are many other contributors,
on other topics, below.)
Read their exchanges below, plus others, and read
a copy of Leviticus 15
from the Old Testament, and verses from Matthew, Mark and Luke from the New Testament of
the Bible.
Scroll to the bottom of this page for
the newest addition; you see the oldest
contribution right below, at the "top" of this page.
Mikvah (ritual bath for Orthodox
Jews), 18th-century engraving; visit Web sites about the mikvah,
behavior
during niddah (the time when a woman is menstruating, in Judaism) and Jewish
ritual-purity (and more)- menstrual myths - slapping your daughter at her first menstruation (in
Jewish tradition) - contraception and religion
(by Kathleen O'Grady
Read a letter about the Celts, women and menstruation
For menstruation and early Christianity
see http://www.womenpriests.org/traditio/unclean.asp
A Discussion of Menstruation and
Religion
(the latest contributions are at the bottom
of the page)
It started with this posting of mine in the 12 July 1998 News:
Continuing the menotoxin theme
(literally, "menstrual poison," a concept that has popped up in
European and American culture many times) from last week, I recently looked
for other sites mentioning it on the Internet. Through Yahoo! and Infoseek
I came across only pages from this site and a site
in Australia, which discussed Zoroastrianism,
an ancient religion in India alive today.
I think you may be interested in its attitude towards menses as written
in Deen Parast, "a famous Zarathushtri religious magazine from Bombay,
India," which appears at http://www.ozemail.com.au/~zarathus/deen33b.html:
Observing the laws of purity is a sacred duty for every Zoroastrian.
A Zoroastrian woman in her menses is doctrinally
held to be in a state of impurity. This is
not an indictment against women alone for even a priest who has a bleeding sore or a festering wound is not permitted
to enter the precincts of a fire temple until he undergoes ritual purification.
Your charge regarding this custom being sexist, therefore, is untenable.
[The writer is responding to a question posed in a letter to the magazine.]
The Roman [the original incorrectly stated Greek] author Pliny
in his Natural History (Book 7, chapter 13) states, "On the approach
of a woman in this state [i.e., menses], wine will become sour, seeds which
are touched by her will become sterile, grafts wither away, garden plants
are parched up and the fruit will fall from the tree beneath which she
sits." In Book 28, chapter 23, he continues, ". . . bees, it
is a well-known fact, will forsake their wives if touched by a menstruating
woman . . . . fire itself, an element which triumphs over every other substance,
is unable to conquer this."
We gather from the 'Vendidad' (16.2) that the observance of seclusion
during menses in a separate place has been in vogue since times immemorial.
This custom, again, is not unique to the Parsi
community alone. A Hindu lady, in her menses,
abstains generally from worship, cooking and remains aloof from other members
of the family. The Jews believe Moses had
interdicted Jewish women from going near rivers, wells, fire or kitchen,
grain fields, gardens and cattle. [A writer has challenged this statement;
see below.] The
Arabs also observed similar customs and women
stayed in separate huts or tents. In the New Testament,
there is a reference to an incident where a woman
in her menses, touches the cloak of Jesus and he cries out, "Who touched
me? My Glory is gone out of me."
[An e-mailer wrote to the MUM Web site in regard to this quotation
of Jesus but erroneously attributes the interpretation and style to me:
You list a statement in the New Testament by Jesus, "Who touched
me? My Glory is gone out of me." What version is this quote from?
Most versions I have seen say power, healing power, or virtue
instead of Glory.
You positioned this in a way to make it seem as if it should be equated
with the other references to the uncleanliness of menstruation. I feel
this is out of context of the verses in which it appears: Luke
8:42, Matthew 9:20, and Mark
5:25.
Actually, Jesus recognized that the girl's faith was such that she
felt that she would be healed from her condition, which is described as
a bleeding for twelve years. It is generally accepted that her affliction
was either a non-stop issue of blood or hemorrhaging, as the result of
disease, as is affirmed by the statement that she had spent all of her
saving on physicians, and her condition got worse as a result. This is
in opposition to the idea that she was merely experiencing a normal menstrual
cycle flow.
The context of the verse is to show Jesus' acknowledgement of the girl's
faith, not to call attention to the healing, and not as an example of a
violation of Leviticus 15, or tainting as a
result of her flow.]
Indian housewives, for ages, have known that pickle and other preserved
foods handled by them during menses spoil easily.
So is there a scientific explanation for this? Indeed, there is!
Critical investigations by Drs. Macht and Lobin
at Johns Hopkins University [my alma mater! Who are these guys?
I'm quitting the alumni association!] Laboratory
have found a certain toxin (appropriately called "Menotoxin")
in the various body fluids of a menstruating woman. This toxin is believed
to manifest itself in large quantities, just before and during the first
few days of the onset of the monthly period. Research has revealed that
Menotoxin has an inhibitory effect on the
growth of roots, stems, living seedlings, yeast and affects the geotropic
properties of seedlings. [Compare this with the soaking bowls with
a spout for washable pads available today (this museum has one); the spout
is for the bloody water to be poured on plants for fertilizer. A recent
visitor from England (fourth item down), who
retired from a career in the blood-storage program, said blood is a great
fertilizer, and menstrual blood would be too. Try it!] Is
there any wonder our sagacious forefathers recommended seclusion? [The
MUM director indented this section for effect.]
We accept the fact that in today's times, especially in large cities
like Bombay, it may not be possible to observe complete seclusion. Yet
one must make a conscious effort to keep away from all sacred objects in
the house or items like clothes which one normally reserves for visits
to Agiaries and Atash behrams. Doctrinally, prayers
recited by a woman in her menses are invalid in nature.
According to the Vendidad' (16.4) a woman in her menses
"should keep 15 paces from fire, 15 from water and 15 from barsam and
3 paces from a holy man." It has also been observed with the aid of
Kirlian photography that the aura or personal atmosphere
of a woman in her menses becomes dark, dense and putrid. Visiting
a holy place like a consecrated Agiary or Atash Behram during menses is,
therefore, preposterous and tantamount
to an unforgivable sin in nature.
Then a reader sent this the following week:
Here's mail about the relationship of religion to menstruation discussed
last week (see also a list of books about this
subject):
I was interested to see how closely the Hindu and Zoroastrian menstrual
taboos were like the Jewish ones. I have been meaning to say that I thought
your site you could use some links to Jewish ritual purity laws and menstruation.
[Please send some, readers!]
Even though men with sores, etc., are also considered unclean, it is
clearly an abnormal condition that makes them ritually impure, unlike women,
where a "normal" condition makes them impure. [See Leviticus,
chapter 15, in the Bible.]
I believe that in Orthodox Judaism an emission of semen makes one impure
for 24 hours also, so maybe that's a little more fair.
On the other hand, if I had eight kids and were living in a crowded
house in Bombay, being sent to a room by myself and not having to cook
might not be so bad!
(I'm not Jewish.)
How does Islam look at menstruation? This
is a response to my putting up a discussion of Zoroastrianism from a magazine
in India. My own knowledge of the subject is close
to zero:
Hi,
I saw your page on menstruation. Great work! [Thanks!]
But I have a question: where in the Qur'an [Koran] does it say that
menstruation is a punishment for Eve? You said the Torah, Bible and Qur'an
say so. I never found it in Koran.
Could you please point it out for me. [Again, I just re-printed a section of a Zoroastrian Web site.]
And by the way, talking about menstruation and religion, you suggest
verse 2:223 of Qur'an, which is not about menstruation. I wonder why you
did not suggest 2:222, since it is the one that talk about menstruation,
not 2:223. [See my declaration of innocence, above.]
They question thee (O Muhammad) concerning menstruation. Say: It is
an illness, so let women alone at such times and go not in unto them till
they are cleansed. And when they have purified themselves, then go in unto
them as Allah hath enjoined upon you. Truly Allah loveth those who turn
unto Him, and loveth those who have a care for cleanness. (QS. 2:222)
This is Pickthal's translation. He used the word illness in the translation.
If you look up other translations, you may find that it is translated as
"hurt" or "pollution" or other. There is no exact English
word. I was told the exact meaning is: something
that cause vulnerability (esp. concerning health) which is correct
in the case of menstruation.
And please note that this verse explain that the woman is being cleansed
in menstruation, which interestingly agrees with Profet's theory. [Margie Profet won a MacArthur Fellowship a few
years ago for her theory that menstruation, in a sense, cleanses.] I bet
if Profet were a Muslim, she would be quite surprised.
By the way, if you use other translations, they may use the words "are
clean" instead of "are cleansed" that Pickthal uses.
In the original Qur'an, it says "till they are cleansed,"
not "clean." But as you may well know, it is not unusual for
translators to translate according to their interpretation, which might
not be correct.
Sincerely,
Her message at the bottom of the e-mail reads:
We created not the heavens and the earth and all that is between them
save with truth, and lo! The Hour is surely coming. So forgive, with a
gracious forgiveness.
Later the e-mailer wrote:
If I may add: In Islam you can kiss, touch, caress, share your bed,
etc., as long as you do not penetrate the vagina during the menstruation.
In response to some incorrect information about religion I placed
on this site, I received the following mail from someone much more knowledgeable
than I am about Islamic practices who wrote an interesting letter last week:
Hi again.
Thanks for placing my e-mail in your Web site. I really think people
need to know the correct information, especially since most
people actually know close to nothing about Islam. [This includes me, and
knowing more is even more important today because of recent world events.]
I'd just like to inform you that I read the part about Eve's punishment
in redspot: taboo, http://onewoman.com/redspot/hist.html,
which was linked to your page, not in the Zoroastrianism article.
However, I went to that site once today yesterday and found that there
has been a little change. It does not say anything about Torah anymore.
Instead of Torah, Bible and Koran, now it says:
Both the Old Testament of the Bible and the Koran consider menstruation
part of Eve's punishment.
I still wonder where these people read this in the Qur'an [Koran] .
. . .
The Zoroastrianism article actually mentions nothing about Islam.
It does say something about the Arabs. I wonder whether you confused
Arabs and Islam. [Gulp!] An Arab can be a Muslim, a Christian, or
a Judaism follower, an atheist, or other. If you ask any American Muslim,
I bet they do not put women in a separate hut or
place during menstruation, because it is not an Islamic tradition.
There is no taboo during menstruation in terms of
relationship with other people. The only prohibition is have a sexual relationship
that has to do with penetration of the vagina.
Sincerely,
Kathleen O'Grady, who supplied this site with the bibliography
of religion and menstruation, wrote to remind me that there are sections
there on Islam and Zoroastrianism, as well as other religions.
Here's more about the discussion of menstruation
and religious texts, specifically Eve:
Nowhere in the passages concerning menstruation
in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, the New Testament, or the Koran does
it state that Eve was being punished by God with
menstruation. This viewpoint was a much later
development by Christian theologians and rabbinic scholars (I am not certain
about Islam). The Christian Church Fathers maintained this view
without doubt, hence the "curse of Eve" (Genesis 3: 13) becomes
"the curse" (i.e. menstruation) for all women (God's
curse was childbearing, not menstruation).
However, the major text on menstruation for both Christians and Jews
and to some extent, for Muslims (who also value the Hebrew Bible) simply
lists proscribed action during menstruation (see Leviticus
15). A good English translation of this passage will not refer to menstruation
("niddah") as "defiling," "sinful," "an
abomination," or "impure" (common mistranslations and misreadings),
but as a physiological process (or the time of sexual separation during
that process). Other references in the passage simply
refer to niddah (menstruation) as "unclean," as they do men's
seminal discharges, which have similar ritual proscriptions.
Many Jewish feminists have taken Leviticus 15 as a positive opportunity
to celebrate their menses.
Read the original texts and judge for yourself! [And see the bibliography of menstruation and religion.]
Trinity College, University of Cambridge, England
A Muslim college student wrote (10 January 1999):
Hi there,
I really enjoyed your Web site and most of all that you are a man and
really care for such issues.
Well, what made me really contact you was the section you have about
religion and menstruation. I am a Moslem girl and I just wanted to add
that women in menses aren't allowed to pray or fast or do any religious
thing, not even touch the holy Quran. But of course we can read it without
touching
If you are interested in more information I'd be happy to research
it more deeply and e-mail you.
Ida Sitanpul responded to the above mail (18 January 1999):
Hi Harry,
I went to your page today, because I remembered I had an unfinished
letter to MUM. And lo, there is another letter about religion. I am going
to respond both to Kathleen and the letter you have from the girl who says
she is a Muslim.
Yes, Leviticus 15 (part of the Christian
Bible and Torah) applies the same rules for men with seminal discharge.
In Islam, also, restrictions applied to menstruating women also apply to
men with seminal discharge. Maybe Kathleen was not aware of it.
In Islam, the only things about menstruation that are unanimously agreed
upon are the restrictions written in Qur'an which are about prayer, fasting,
and no penetrating sex during menstruation. Other than that, there are
different opinions.
Islam does not have priests or an institution
of priesthood who set the rules for people to follow, so people are bound
to study the rules themselves. If they are not capable of doing their own
study, they are allowed to follow people who they think more capable and
knowledgable then they are. Even then, they are asked to use their head,
so as not to follow blindly. [I find this very interesting!]
In Islam there are five major schools of thought commonly accepted,
and many Muslims follow one of them. Many are raised in a society that
holds the opinion of one school of thought, and they may not be aware of
the opinions of other schools of thought.
The Muslim girl who wrote may follow one of them. Other schools of
thought may have opinions different from what she wrote. For one, about
touching the Qur'an, many Muslims I know do not think the restriction has
any valid base.
Kathleen also mentioned that reformed Christians and Reformed Jews
do not follow Leviticus 15 anymore. It is quite
true that many people who claim to be Christians, Muslims, Jewish, or any
other religion do not necessarily practice exactly what their scriptures
proscribe or say; some out of conscious effort to reform, some out of ignorance,
and some others simply do not really care. That's exactly why comparing
what the texts say (I took it to be the Scriptures) is more reliable then
comparing the practice. The practice might not be what is in the Scriptures
and may differ from one group to another.
Sincerely,
Dear Museum Webmaster,
May I suggest that you get the book "The
Natural Blood of Women" by Shaikh Muhammad bin Salih al-Uthaimeen
and translated by Dr. Saleh S. as-Saleh, an Islamic text in the English
language explaining the fiqh (laws) of menstruation. It is a book of about
65 pages and probably only around $5, comprehensive and believed to be
the best in the English language on the subject.
In Islam we see the exclusion from prayer and
fasting to be a blessing for women. We are not required to do these
things because we frankly don't feel much like doing
them [!]. We still make du'a (personal
prayer), we can touch a translation of Qur'an, but not an Arabic Qur'an
unless we are teaching it (the Qur'an is only a "Qur'an" if in
the Arabic language. - all others are "translations of Qur'an")
It is a nice time for women. We are blessed
by Allah that we are given a break from these duties [fasting and salat(the
five daily prayers)] and since we still keep up with our personal prayers
and religious study we do not loose out on anything!
If you are in Washington, District of Columbia, there is a shop in
Falls Church [a suburb of Washington] called Halalco.
They are one of the largest Islamic bookstores in
the nation. I suggest you contact them about getting the book. You
can also find them on-line at http://www.halaco.com
It would be very beneficial in your study. I would love to write some
passages from the book but since it all pertains to this subject I don't
know what I'd choose!
Thank you
Muslim girls start covering themselves when they get their first period,
writes a Norwegian girl (September 2000)
Hi!
Just wanted to say - the MUM page is really great! [Thanks!] And I
wanted to add this:
When a Muslim girl gets her first menstruation,
she must start covering her hair and body. But my Muslim girlfriends I
know here in Norway don't cover their hair before after a long holiday
or something like that - it would seem quite obvious if they went to school
with their hair in a ponytail one day, and came with their hair completely
covered the day after. Especially if her classmates knew a little
about Islam.
No matter what people say, and no matter how common menstruation is,
young girls are quite embarrassed about having it.
Love,
Norwegian girl (14)!
A correction to a description of Jewish belief
Hi,
I was reading the discussion on Biblical and
Quranic attitudes towards menstruation [here] on your site and I came across a quote that distressed
me:
"The Jews believe Moses had interdicted Jewish women from going
near rivers, wells, fire or kitchen, grain fields, gardens and cattle."
It appears in a longer quote about Zoroastrian sources, I think. I
am not sure where the information came from, but
it is completely erroneous. [It came from the Zoroastrian site listed
there.] While I realize that the subsequent
discussion turned to Islamic beliefs, I feel that
it is important that this inaccurate information be addressed somehow.
There is nothing in the Old Testament indicating
that any of those things were off-limits to the menstruant. She
may have been in a state of ritual impurity that prevented her from approaching
the Temple and from engaging in sexual relations, but she was not prohibited
from having contact with any of the "non-holy" or "common"
items listed above. She could transmit her state of ritual impurity to
other people who touched her and anyone who touched her clothes, her bedding,
and anything she sat on or lay on, but these are the only prohibitions
listed in Leviticus 15, 18, or 20. Whatever the source of the beliefs mentioned
above, they certainly did not come from the figure of Moses.
While later texts such as the Mishna (edited in 230 CE) and the Talmuds
(Palestinian Talmud edited in the 4th century CE, Babylonian Talmud edited
in 5th or 6th century CE) do suggest that perhaps the menstruant was secluded
during her period (see Mishna Niddah 7:4 or Tractate Rosh Hashana 26a),
the evidence is paltry at best and probably only applied to Greco-Roman
Palestine where it was still a practice to eat only with those who were
in a state of ritual purity, despite the destruction of the Temple and
abolishment of the purity system. However, the more normative view is expressed
in Tractate Ketubot 61a where it is clear that menstruating women went
about all their domestic tasks as any other wife - which would surely involve
coming into contact with fire, kitchens, wells, gardens and cattle!
The only prohibition that remained was the taboo on sexual relations
between husband and wife. Subsequently many of the discussions throughout
rabbinic literature focus on curtailing the opportunities for intimacy
during this time when husbands and wives living under the same roof could
not engage in physicality.
However, there is a text dated to the 6th or 7th century, known as
Beraitade-Niddah, that although initially a fringe document, was assimilated
into popular belief. In this text, the idea expressed was that the menstruant's
breath, spittle, footprints, voice, and nail clippings were threatening.
Although earlier rabbinic literature specifically states that a menstruant
can study scripture and recite blessings without a problem (see Tosefta
Berachot 2:12) in Beraita de-Niddah she is prohibited from lighting candles,
entering the synagogue or being in a room with Hebrew books. A popular
medieval commentator known as Nachmonidies brought these marginal beliefs
into the mainstream and consequently, some of them, such as removing oneself
from the synagogue during menstruation, are practised by women in some
communities to this day (for more information on this subject see a book
by Susan Sered called Women as Ritual Experts).
So yes, there is more than enough that is distressing in traditional
Jewish sources about the restrictions placed on the menstruating woman,
but the fear of menstruants approaching rivers, wells, fires, kitchens,gardens,
cattle, etc., is not in any tradition I am aware of. The idea that a menstruating
woman would be prohibited from approaching a river is the most absurd notion,
for Talmudic law itself requires that at the end of one's period a woman
should undergo ritual immersion in a pool of water known as mikvah and
a natural body of water such as a river full of spring water meets all
of the regulations of a mikvah. I guess I am particularly invested in this
subject because I am writing my MA thesis at the Hebrew University on approaches
to menstruation in the Talmud.
Sincerely,
Muslim menstrual laws
A woman e-mailer wrote the museum the following in November 2000:
As with so many cultures, there are rules and etiquettes surrounding
menstruation in various Muslim cultures. Religiously, there are certain
rites that women are required to suspend (including a type of formal prayer
known as salat, and also sexual intercourse) during the time that they
are menstruating, which they resume after fully immersing and washing themselves
in water (known as ghusl) once the bleeding has stopped. At the time of
the Prophet Muhammad, the women in the Muslim community used to approach
the wives of the Prophet, asking them to inspect their cotton wads they
used as pads, to check whether or not they had "finished" their
periods. (Emission of non-menstrual blood and other bodily fluids do not
require suspension of religious rites, but do require a minor ablution
to be performed beforehand).
The Prophet himself was asked about what method a (particular) woman
should use to stem the flow of severe menstrual blood. He advised her that
she should use cotton or a cloth. Although another report indicates that
for one wife of the Prophet who had extra bleeding (non-menstrual blood)
to place a tray underneath to catch any blood while she prayed.
Another hadith (tradition) reports that: "The woman who has a
prolonged flow of blood should wash herself every day when her menstrual
period is over and take a woollen cloth greased with fat or oil (to tie
over the private parts)." (Sahih Bukhari 1:0302).
More about menstrual law in Islam
From a woman e-mailer, March 2001:
I was reading your section about menstruation and religion, particularly
in Islam.
First of all, there is nothing in the Qur'an
that states that a woman menstruates as a punishment for eating the forbidden
fruit in the Garden (in fact, both Adam and Eve have the blame,
and other men and women are not responsible for their sin).
I am including some ahadith (traditions of the Prophet - peace be upon
him) from the book of Sahih Bukhari (these are authentic traditions of
the Prophet - peace be upon him - and are second to the Qur'an in deriving
Islamic law):
Sahih Bukhari (translated by Dr. Muhammad
Muhsin Khan)
Volume 1, Book 6 The Book of Menses
#293
Narrated Al-Qasim: Aisha said, "We set out with the sole intention
of performing Hajj and when we reached Sarif (a place six miles from Mecca)
I got my menses. Allah's Apostle (pbuh) came to me while I was weeping.
He said, "What is the matter with you? Have you got your menses?"
I replied, "Yes."
He said, "This is a thing that Allah has ordained for the daughters
of Adam. So do what all the pilgrims do with the exception of the Tawaf
(circumambulation) round the Ka'ba."
Aisha added, "Allah's Apostle (pbuh) sacrificed cows on behalf
of his wives."
#294
Narrated Aisha: While in menses, I used to comb the hair of Allah's
Apostle (pbuh).
#296
Narrated Aisha: The Prophet (pbuh) used to lean on my lap and recite
Qur'an while I was in menses.
#297
Narrated Um Salama: While I was laying with the Prophet (pbuh) under
a single woolen sheet, I got the menses. I slipped away and put on the
clothes for menses. He (pbuh) said, "Have you got Nifas (menses)."
I replied, "Yes." He then called me and made me lie with
him under the same sheet.
#298
Narrated Aisha: The Prophet (pbuh) and I used to take a bath from a
single pot while we were Junub (in a state of sexual impurity). During
the menses, he used to order me to put on an Izar (dress worn below the
waist) and used to fondle me. While in Itikaf (seclusion in the mosque),
he used to bring his head near me and I would wash it while I used to be
in my periods (menses).
#301 (shortened)
The women asked, "O Allah's Apostle (pbuh)! What is deficient
in our intelligence and religion?"
He (pbuh) said, "Is not the evidence of two women equal to the
witness of one man?"
They replied in the affirmative.
He said, "This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn't it
true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?"
The women replied in the affirmative.
He (pbuh) said, "This is the deficiency in her religion."
#303
Narrated Aisha: Fatima bint Abi Hubaish said to Allah's Apostle (pbuh),
"O Allah's Apostle (pbuh)! I do not become clean (from bleeding).
Shall I give up my prayers?"
Allah's Apostle (pbuh) said, "No, because it is from a blood vessel
and not the menses. So when the real menses begins give up your prayers
and when it (the period) has finished wash the blood off your body (take
a bath) and offer your prayers."
#304
Narrated Asma bint Abi Bakr: A woman asked Allah's Apostle (pbuh),
"O Allah's Apostle (pbuh)! What should we do if the blood of menses
falls on our clothes?"
Allah's Apostle (pbuh) replied, "If the blood of menses falls
on the garment of nay of you, she must take hold of the blood spot, rub
it, and wash it with water, and then pray in (with it)."
#312
Narrated Aisha: An Ansari woman asked the Prophet (pbuh) how to take
a bath after finishing from the menses.
He replied, "Take a piece of cloth perfumed with musk and clean
the private parts with it thrice."
The Prophet (pbuh) felt shy and turned his face. So I pulled her to
me and told her what the Prophet (pbuh) meant.
#321 (shortened, regarding the Eid celebrations)
(Narrated by Aiyab) I (Um 'Atiya) heard the Prophet (pbuh) saying,
"The unmarried young virgins who often stay screened and the menstruating
women should come out and participate in the good deeds as well as the
religious gathering of the faithful believers, but the menstruating women
should keep away from the Musalla (praying place)."
Hafsa asked Um 'Atiya surprisingly, "Do you say the menstruating
women?"
She replied, "Doesn't a menstruating woman attend Arafat (on Hajj)
and such and such (other deeds)?"
#329
Narrated Maimuna, the wife of the Prophet (pbuh): "During my menses,
I never prayed, but used to sit on the mat beside the mosque of Allah's
Apostle (pbuh). He used to offer the prayer on his sheet and in prostration
some of his clothes used to touch me."
By the way, I found your site very interesting and informative. [Many
thanks!]
A woman writes about customs in a Muslim country, Kyrgyzstan
(March 2001)
Hi!
Well, let me first introduce myself. My name is Alfiya [who said to
use her name; I normally don't], I'm 22, and the country where I live is
called Kyrgyzstan. My nation is Tatar. Anyway
I have to deal with Moslem traditions.
In all the course of the history of this religion menstruation was
considered as something dirty. That's why women of reproductive age have
no admittance to mosque (Moslem church) and to cemeteries right up to the
present day. And the idea came about that it's a deadly sin for a woman
if someone sees her menstrual blood. Menstruation was the reason why a
woman was considered as a person of second rank. Of course, during history
traditions suffered some modifications. So now we have a "Western"
conception about menstruation.
By the way, most of women who write their opinion [in
Would you stop menstruating if you could?] say that menstruation is
a hell and it's significant that American and Canadian women have early
menopause. I think it serves just as evidence of a lack of health because
if a woman hasn't any problems with "women's health" she should
not feel any discomfort. And as I know (I mean my grandmother's) menopause
comes to women in our area not earlier than 55-60 years of age.
I honestly don't know what women used in the past here. But now we
have all modern means of hygiene. The most comfortable, I think, are tampons.
But it's just my own opinion.
Thank you for your attention. And especially thanks for this site.
It's very interesting. [Thanks very much for writing!]
Read about Jewish purity laws
Mr. Finley,
Here are the FACTS regarding Jewish Family Purity Laws:
Please post!
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Mikvah (ritual
bath for Orthodox Jews), 18th-century engraving - menstrual myths -
slapping your daughter at her first menstruation
Read this page in Spanish.
© 1998 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce
or distribute work on this Web site in any manner or
medium without written permission of the author.
Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org
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