Can Women Read Surah 73 During Periods? A Fiqh Guide by School

This is one of the most common questions women ask once Surah 73 becomes part of their routine, especially those who recite it daily, are memorising it, or teach it to children. Below are the rulings of each school, what is permitted for everyone, and how to handle everyday situations. It is a summary of established positions, so if you need a ruling for a specific case, ask a scholar of the school you follow.

The rulings, school by school

The same rulings apply to bleeding after childbirth (nifas). Irregular bleeding outside the normal period (istihadah) is different: a woman in that state prays and recites as normal.

What every woman may do, in every school

• Listen to the full surah being recited. Hearing it daily keeps the words fresh in the memory.
• Look at the text while it is recited, without moving the tongue, and follow along.
• Read the translation and commentary in Urdu or English. Studying its meaning is not recitation.
• Think about the ayat in the heart, which is not counted as recitation by the scholars.
• Make dhikr, dua, istighfar and salawat. Surah 73 itself ends by telling believers to seek Allah's forgiveness, and that can be done at any time.
• Keep the night alive with remembrance. The night prayer is paused, but waking briefly for dua in the last third of the night is still possible and rewarding.

Everyday situations

"I recite this surah every night. Do I lose my routine?"

No. Change the form, not the habit. At your usual time, play the recitation, follow the text with your eyes, and read the meaning of a few ayat. When the period ends, you return to reciting with your routine still intact.

"I am memorising it and fear forgetting."

This is exactly the case for which the Maliki school allows recitation from memory. Under the Hanafi view, listen repeatedly and revise silently in your heart, without moving your lips. Most memorisers find that a week of daily listening keeps everything in place. Our two week memorisation schedule can simply pause on those days and continue afterwards.

"I teach children at home or at a madrasa."

Hanafi scholars allow a woman who teaches the Quran to teach it word by word, pausing between words rather than reciting whole ayat in one breath. Alternatively, let the children recite while you listen and correct them, or play a recording for them to follow.

"Can I read it on my phone?"

Touching a phone screen is not the same as touching a printed mushaf in the view of many contemporary scholars, because the text is not permanently written on the device. The question of reciting aloud is unchanged, though: if your school does not allow recitation, the phone does not change that. Listening and reading the translation on the phone are fine for everyone.

"Can I say ayat as a dua?"

Yes, in the Hanafi school, if the intention is dua or dhikr rather than recitation. For example, praising Allah as the Lord of the east and the west, as ayah 9 does, or seeking His forgiveness as the last ayah teaches, is a form of remembrance open to everyone.

Why the scholars differ

The difference comes from how scholars weighed a small number of texts:

• A narration says that a menstruating woman and a person in a state of major impurity should not recite anything of the Quran (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 131). Many hadith critics graded it weak, which is why the Malikis and others did not build a prohibition on it.
• 'Ali reported that nothing kept the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) from the Quran except janabah (major impurity after intercourse) (Sunan Abi Dawud 229). The majority applied the same ruling to menstruation by analogy.
• 'A'ishah said the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) would recline in her lap and recite the Quran while she was menstruating (Sahih al-Bukhari 297). This shows that being near the Quran, and hearing it, is not a problem.
• When 'A'ishah began her period during Hajj, the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) told her to do everything a pilgrim does except circle the Ka'bah (Sahih al-Bukhari 305). Those who permit recitation note that pilgrims remember Allah and recite constantly.

Because the evidence can be read in more than one way, each position is a respected scholarly view. The healthy approach is to follow your school consistently and not to criticise women who follow another.

Common misunderstandings

• "She cannot even hear the Quran." Not true in any school. Listening is permitted and rewarded, as the report of 'A'ishah shows.
• "She must stay away from the room where the Quran is kept." There is no such rule. Only touching and, for most schools, reciting are restricted.
• "Her worship stops completely." Prayer and fasting pause, but dhikr, dua, charity, good character and learning continue, and all of them carry reward.
• "A woman who follows the Maliki view is doing something wrong." She is following a recognised school of Islamic law. Differences of this kind have always existed among scholars.

Coming back after the period

1. Make ghusl once the bleeding has fully stopped.
2. Make up no prayers for the days of the period; they are forgiven, unlike missed fasts of Ramadan.
3. Return to reciting at your usual time. If you read the surah daily, our guide on finding the right time of day for it may help you settle back in.
4. Recite slowly the first time, to catch any ayah that slipped during the break.

These days are not a break from worship, only a change in its form. Keep listening, keep reflecting, and keep the text close: you can hear every ayah with its meaning on our reading page whenever you like.