[Q 718] Period During Sunnah & Witr Prayer

Question

A woman started reading 2 sunnahs of Isha and realised she had started her period. Will she need to repeat the 2 sunnahs of Isha when her period has finished and will she also need to read the witr as well?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الجواب بعون الملك الوهاب اللهم هداية الحق والصواب

Answer

In the mentioned scenario, the fard prayers performed during the state of purity are valid, and their qada is not necessary. If menstruation actually began during the performance of Sunnah prayers, then due to the absence of the condition of purity for salah, the Sunnah prayers were not performed. And since intentionally starting these Sunnah prayers made their performance wajib, and then they became invalid before completion, their qada will now be necessary.

As for the ruling regarding Witr prayers, their time for performance is after the performance of fard prayers. In terms of being wajib, they are considered a separate independent prayer. And since for a prayer to be fard or wajib, the consideration is given to the end of its time, therefore, whenever menstruation begins during the entire time of that prayer, that prayer, whether fard or Witr, will not become wajib.

Therefore, in the mentioned scenario, since menstruation began during the time of Isha, the performance of Witr prayers did not become wajib. And when they did not become wajib, their qada will also not be necessary.

فتاوی رضویہ میں ہے: نماز اگرچہ نفل باشد بشروع واجب گردد واگرقبل ازاتمام فسادےرونماید قضا لازم آید اما ایں حکم حکم شروع قصدی ست پس اگر کسے مثلا نماز ظہر گزرا دہ فراموش کردوباز عقدش بربست پیش ازفراغ بیادش آمد ہمچناں بشکست قضا بردلازم نیست کہ ایں شروع بربنائے ظن غلط بودہمچناں چوں زن راحیض رسید پیداشد کہ نمازایں وقت برو واجب نبود وظن وجابے کہ بربنایش آغاز کردہ بود غلط برآمد ز یراکہ نزد مااعتبار مراآخر وقت راست کمانصوا علیہ پس قضا لازم نیا یدبخلاف نفل کہ شروع دروے نہ بظن وجوب بودونہ عروض حیض درآخر وقت مانع تنفل در اول ست پس شروع دروے صحیح بودچوں فاسد شدقضا واجب آمد۔

Translation: Although a salah may be a nafl, it becomes wajib upon starting it. If any invalidation appears before its completion, then qada will become necessary. However, this ruling applies to a salah that was intentionally started. Therefore, if a person performed Dhuhr salah and then forgot, and made the intention for it again but remembered before completing it and broke the salah in that state, qada will not be necessary for them, because this initiation was based on a false assumption. Similarly, when a woman experiences menstruation, and the salah of that time was not fard upon her, but she started it thinking it was fard, then this thought proved to be incorrect. Because, according to us, the end of the time is considered, as the honorable jurists have stated, therefore qada will not be necessary. This is unlike a nafl, which was neither started considering it wajib, nor does the onset of menstruation at the end of the time prevent performing nafl at the beginning. Therefore, the initiation of the nawafil was valid; when they became invalid, qada became wajib.

(Fatawa Ridawiyyah, vol. 4)

Answered by: Mubashir Attari (AskMufti Scholar)

Verified by: Mufti Sajid Attari
Translated answer
Date: 7th September 2026