Birgivi's Manual Interpreted: Complete Fiqh of Menstruation and Related Issues »

Birgivi's Manual Interpreted is the explanative translation of a major Islamic legal work on menstruation, lochia, and related issues. Answering hundreds of questions needed by the Muslim woman practicing her din, this book provides accurate information and practical arrangement of charts and texts making it an important reference for every Muslim family. The primary text, Dhukhr al-Muta'ahhilin [Treasure for Those with Families] by Imam Muhammad al-Birgivi (d. 981/1573), is the most authoritative work on menstruation in the Hanafi school, which the majority of Muslims follow. The work has been commentated upon by a number of traditional scholars, the best known of whom is Imam Ibn 'Abidin, the central scholar of the late Hanafi school.

The text and its commentaries have been studied by Hedaya Hartford and Ashraf Muneeb under various sheikhs from Syria and Turkey, among them Sheikh Muhammad Amin Siraj of Turkey, a traditional Hanafi scholar who has an unbroken chain to Imam al-Birgivi himself. Sheikh Siraj gave Hartford and Muneeb his authorization to teach this volume in a written ijaza that attests, in his words, to their "full comprehension and meticulous understanding" of the work.

Authorization     8
Introduction     11
Authors' Preface     15
The Primary Text
Sacred Law Rulings     21
During Menstruation or Lochia     21
Prayer     21
Fasting     22
Reading the Qur'an     23
Touching the Qur'an     24
Entering a Mosque     25
Circumambulating the Ka'aba     25
Intimate Contact     26
Ritual Purity     26
Specific to Menstruation     26
Puberty     26
Sunna or Bida' Divorce     27
Postmarital Waiting Period ('Idda)     27
Atonement (Kaffara)     28
Rulings for the State of Major Ritual Impurity (Janaba)     28
Rulings for the State of Minor Ritual Impurity (Hadath)     29
Supplementary Rulings     29
Trimming the Nails     29
Removing Bodily Hair     30
Divorce     30
Waiting Period after Divorce     30
Waiting Period after Death of Husband     31
Terminology     32
The Basics     35
Valid Blood     35
Invalid Blood     36
Tuhr     37
Habit     38
The Forgotten Habit     40
The Beginner     40
A Woman with a Habit     41
Colors of Blood     43
Normal Vaginal Discharge     43
Onset of Valid Bleeding     45
Onset of Menstruation     45
Onset of Lochia     45
Multiple Births     46
Caesarian Birth     46
Miscarriage     46
The Kursuf     48
Rulings for the Kursuf     48
Exiting of Blood     49
Blocking the Blood     49
End of Valid Bleeding     50
Ascertaining the End     50
At the Maximum     51
Before the Maximum     51
Before the Habit     54
After the Habit     55
Time of the Purificatory Bath (Ghusl)     55
Menopause     56
Change in Habit     57
Blood Exceeding the Maximum     57
Blood Not Exceeding the Maximum     59
Change of Lochial Habit     60
Constant Bleeding     61
A Woman with a Habit     61
The Beginner     61
Valid Blood and Valid Tuhr     62
Invalid Blood and Invalid Tuhr     62
Valid Blood and Invalid Tuhr     63
Puberty through Pregnancy     64
Chronic Annulment of Ablution     66
Excused Status     67
Losing the Excused Status     67
Short of the Excused Status     68
Active and Non-Active Excuse     69
Ablution Before the Prayer Time     70
Forestalling the Excuse     71
Wiping Footgear (Khuffayn)     71
The Prayer     71
Cleaning the Filth     72
The Commentary in Detail
Comprehensive Precepts     77
General Precepts     77
Lochial Precepts     78
Menstrual Precepts     79
Commentary on the Comprehensive Precepts     81
General Precepts     81
Lochial Precepts     86
Menstrual Precepts     91
Lochial Case Studies     101
Menstrual Case Studies     120
End of Valid Bleeding Summary     171
Before the Habit     171
At or After the Habit     172
At the Maximum     173
Abnormal Vaginal Discharge     174
Types of Abnormal Vaginal Discharge     174
Causes of Abnormal Vaginal Discharge     176
Preventing Vaginitis and Vulvitis     177
Toxic Shock Syndrome     178
Chart: Common Types of Vaginitis     179
The Arabic Text     181
Sample Record Charts     196
Yearly Menstrual-Lochial Calendar     197
Works Cited     205
Imam Birgivi     207