Ibn Uthaymin
60 Sual wa-Jawab fi Ahkam al-Hayd
- Author died
- 1421 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Qimmah
60 Sual wa-Jawab fi Ahkam al-Hayd (Sixty Questions and Answers on the Rulings of Menstruation) is a legal treatise comprising fatwas by the Saudi jurist Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin (d. 1421 AH / 2001 CE), addressing common juristic inquiries regarding female ritual purity and acts of worship.
Purpose and Composition
The work was assembled in response to the frequent inquiries directed to Muslim scholars concerning the legal rulings of menstruation (hayd), post-natal bleeding (nifas), and related matters in devotional practices. The compiler selected recurring questions and aimed for brevity so that the collection could serve as an accessible reference for Muslim women to perform acts of worship with religious clarity. The foreword notes that although some queries might appear similar upon a preliminary reading, each includes nuanced jurisprudential clarifications and supplementary points of legal benefit.
Structure and Content
The text is arranged in a numbered question-and-answer format spanning sixty specific legal issues, categorized into thematic sections such as rulings pertaining to prayer and fasting, as well as rulings regarding Hajj and Umrah. The topics treated across the collection include:
- Fasting and ritual purity: The validity of fasts when bleeding stops shortly before or after dawn, the effect of isolated blood spotting or intermittent bleeding during Ramadan, and eating discreetly during daytime hours for women experiencing menses or post-natal bleeding.
- Prayer obligations: Whether a woman who attains purity in the afternoon is required to make up both Dhuhr and Asr or only Asr, and the status of prayers following miscarriages before and after the physical formation of the fetus.
- Pilgrimage rites: The procedures for entering ihram during active bleeding, the absence of a designated two-unit prayer for ihram, the conditions under which a menstruating woman may perform sa'y or delay the farewell and arrival circumambulations, and concessions for Tawaf al-Ifadah in situations of necessity where travel schedules cannot be altered.
Legal Methodology
In his responses, Ibn Uthaymin regularly references Quranic verses and prophetic traditions, evaluating differing opinions within the Hanbali school and other juristic views before stating what he considers the strongest position (al-qawl al-rajih). For instance, on the question of a woman becoming pure at the time of the Asr prayer, he maintains that she is obligated to pray only Asr rather than joining Dhuhr with it, citing the presumption of non-liability (bara'at al-dhimmah) and prophetic textual evidence. Similarly, he emphasizes that the state of post-natal bleeding is determined by the presence or absence of blood rather than a rigid required duration of forty days.
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