[Q 646] First Menstruation and Bulugh

QUESTION:

If a girl starts her periods for the very first time & they last less than 72hours, would she be considered Baligaah?
Would all the rules that become Fard/wajib, become Fard/wajib upon her?

ANSWER:

The minimum duration of Hayd (menstruation) is three days and three nights (72 hours). If bleeding stops before this period, then it will not be counted as Hayd (menstruation); rather, it will be called Istihadah (non-menstrual bleeding). The Fuqaha (Islamic jurists) have counted Hayd (menstruation) among the signs of a woman attaining Bulugh (puberty), and what is meant by this is actual Hayd (menstruation), not merely the occurrence of bleeding.

Therefore, in the situation mentioned, such a girl will not be ruled to have attained Bulugh (puberty), and the Faraid (Fard obligations) and Wajibat (Wajib obligations) will not yet become Fard (obligatory) and Wajib (necessary) upon her.

However, if according to the Islamic calendar the girl reaches the age of fifteen years, then even if no sign of Bulugh (puberty) is found, she will be regarded as Balighah (having attained puberty), and all rulings will become binding upon her.

It is mentioned in Durr al-Mukhtar:

“بلوغ الغلام بالاحتلام والإحبال والإنزال) والأصل هو الإنزال (والجارية بالاحتلام والحيض والحبل) ولم يذكر الإنزال صريحا لأنه قلما يعلم منها (فإن لم يوجد فيهما) شيء (فحتى يتم لكل منهما خمس عشرة سنة به يفتى)”
(Durr al-Mukhtar ma‘a Radd al-Muhtar, Vol. 6, p. 153, Dar al-Fikr, Beirut)

It is also mentioned:

“(فصل) (بلوغ الصبي بالاحتلام والإحبال والإنزال، و) بلوغ (الصبية بالاحتلام والحيض والحبل) الأصل أن البلوغ يكون بالإنزال حقيقة، ولكن غيره مما ذكر لا يكون إلا مع الإنزال فجعل كل واحدة علامة على البلوغ”
(Durar al-Hukkam Sharh Ghurar al-Ahkam, Vol. 2, p. 275)

It is stated in Fatawa Ridawiyyah:

“A boy below twelve years of age and a girl below nine years of age can never be regarded as Baligh (having attained puberty) and Balighah (having attained puberty). Both the boy and the girl are definitely regarded as Baligh and Balighah in Shari‘ah upon reaching fifteen complete years of age, even if no signs of puberty appear. Before these ages, if signs are found — whether the boy or girl experiences Inzal (discharge) while asleep or awake, or the girl begins Hayd (menstruation), or through intercourse the boy causes pregnancy, or the girl becomes pregnant — then they are certainly regarded as Baligh and Balighah.”

(Fatawa Ridawiyyah, Vol. 19, p. 630, Raza Foundation)

Answered by: Mubashir Attari (AskMufti Scholar)
Verified by: Mufti Sajid Attari
Translated answer
Date: 8th June 2026.