Draft:Verse of Menstruation
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| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Verse of Menstruation |
| Sura | al-Baqara (Qur'an 2) |
| Verse | 222 |
| Juz' | 2 |
| Page | 35 |
| Content Information | |
| Cause of Revelation | Refuting the belief of the Jews regarding the limitation of sexual relations |
| Place of Revelation | Medina |
| Topic | Jurisprudential |
| About | Prohibition of sexual relations during menstruation |
Qur'an 2:222 is the 222nd verse of Sura al-Baqara,[1] addressing the subject of menstruation[2] and prohibiting sexual intercourse during this period.[3] The verse characterizes menstruation as a harmful state (adhā), citing this harm as the underlying rationale for the prohibition of sexual intimacy during menstruation.[4] According to certain exegetes, while there is scholarly divergence regarding the precise definition of maḥīḍ, in this verse it refers to the physiological blood discharged during the monthly cycle.[5] In his exegesis Partowī az Qurʾān, Mahmud Taleghani attributes the verse's description of menstruation as a source of suffering to the viscosity, infection, and irritating nature of the blood, which he argues causes physiological disruption and nervous agitation in women.[6]
| “ | وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْمَحِيضِ ۖ قُلْ هُوَ أَذًى فَاعْتَزِلُوا النِّسَاءَ فِي الْمَحِيضِ ۖ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوهُنَّ حَتَّىٰ يَطْهُرْنَ ۖ فَإِذَا تَطَهَّرْنَ فَأْتُوهُنَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَمَرَكُمُ اللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
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” |
| “ | They ask you concerning [intercourse during] menses. Say, ‘It is hurtful; so keep away from wives during the menses, and do not approach them until they become clean. And when they become clean, go into them as Allah has commanded you. Indeed Allah loves the penitent, and He loves those who keep clean.’
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| — Qur'an 2:222 | ||
This verse addresses inquiries made by Muslims concerning menstruation. According to some exegetes, these questions stemmed from prevailing misconceptions; some believers imagined that they were required to isolate women entirely during their menstrual cycle, avoiding even shared presence.[7] Allama Tabataba'i attributes this inquiry to the interaction between the Muslims of Medina and the Jews. Jewish law prescribes strict rulings for menstruating women, prohibiting acts such as sitting or eating with them. Conversely, some Bedouin Arabs held the superstition that children conceived during menstruation would be born with tendencies toward extreme jealousy and bloodthirstiness.[8]
Exegetical analysis of the terms "yaṭhurna" (Arabic: يَطْهُرْن) and "taṭahharna" (Arabic: تَطَهَّرْن) in this verse has prompted a legal debate: is the cessation of menstrual blood alone sufficient to render sexual intercourse permissible, or is the performance of ghusl (ritual bath) also a requisite condition?[9] Al-Shaykh al-Tusi identifies two viewpoints on this matter: some scholars consider ghusl to be obligatory prior to intercourse, while others maintain that the cessation of menstrual blood suffices to establish permissibility.[10] In his work Jāmiʿ al-maqāṣid, Al-Muhaqqiq al-Karaki rules that sexual intercourse is permissible once the menstrual flow has stopped. He interprets "taṭahharna" as referring to purity from blood, arguing that this reading aligns with variant recitations of the verse and conforms to the rules of Arabic grammar.[11]
Notes
- ↑ Khurāsānī, "Āyāt-i nāmdār", p. 381.
- ↑ Mudarrisī, Min hudā l-Qurʾān, 1419 AH, vol. 1, p. 386.
- ↑ Mufīd, Aḥkām al-nisāʾ, 1413 AH, p. 19.
- ↑ Daftar-i Tablīghāt-i Islāmī, Farhang-nāma-yi ʿulūm-i Qurʾān, p. 381.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 2, p. 138.
- ↑ Ṭāliqānī, Partowī az Qurʾān, 1362 Sh, vol. 2, p. 132.
- ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, Beirut, vol. 2, p. 220.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 2, p. 208.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 2, p. 139.
- ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, Beirut, vol. 2, p. 221.
- ↑ Muḥaqqiq Karakī, Jāmiʿ al-maqāṣid, 1414 AH, vol. 1, p. 333.
References
- Khurāsānī, ʿAlī, "Āyāt-i nāmdār", Dāʾirat al-maʿārif-i Qurʾān-i Karīm, Qom, Būstān-i Kitāb, 1382 Sh.
- Ṭāliqānī, Maḥmūd, Partowī az Qurʾān, Tehran, Shirkat-i Sahāmī-yi Intishār, 1363 Sh.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn, al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, Beirut, Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī lil-Maṭbūʿāt, 1390 AH.
- Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan, al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, n.d.
- Muḥaqqiq Karakī, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn, Jāmiʿ al-maqāṣid fī sharḥ al-qawāʿid, Qom, Muʾassasat Āl al-Bayt ʿalayhim al-salām, 1414 AH.
- Mudarrisī, Sayyid Muḥammad Taqī, Min hudā l-Qurʾān, Tehran, Dār Muḥibbī al-Ḥusayn, 1419 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir, Tafsīr-i namūna, Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1374 Sh.
- Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad b. Nuʿmān, Aḥkām al-nisāʾ, Qom, Kangara-yi Jahānī-yi Hazāra-yi Shaykh Mufīd, 1413 AH.