Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

 

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

asalamualaikum,
it is said that in the month of Ramzan the sawab we get for our prayers and other ibadats are multiplied , as it is the glorious month of Ramazan.the laila-tul-qadr is also a blessing that is a sort of gift from Allah to his people,aslo falls in this glorious month.A woman who has her periods in this month cannot fast,so is she deprived of the benifits that the month offers.Because she can only make up for the missed days after the holy month,and offcourse cant offer prayers during her periods.Will she have equal sawab when she fasts later.Also that if her periods occur during laila-tul-qadr then won't she be deprived of all the benifits of the glorious night.So isnt it that women have less opportunities than men to earn sawab in the month of ramazan?

 

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Answer:

 

Women menses deprived of ramadan

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 1965        Narrated by Salman al-Farisi

Allah's Messenger (saws) said in a sermon which he delivered to them on the last day of Sha'ban: "A great month (Ramadan), a blessed month, a month containing a night which is better than a thousand months has approached you people. Allah has appointed the observance of fasting during it as an obligatory duty, and the passing of its night in prayer as a voluntary practice. If someone draws near to Allah during it with some good act he will be like one who fulfils an obligatory duty in another month, and he who fulfils an obligatory duty in it will be like one who fulfils seventy obligatory duties in another month. It is the month of endurance, and the reward of endurance is Paradise. It is the month of sharing with others, and a month in which the believer's provision is increased. If someone gives one who has been fasting something with which to break his fast it will provide forgiveness of his sins and save him from Hell, and he will have a reward equal to the one who observes the fast, without his reward being diminished in any respect."

 

Your Question: So isnt it that women have less opportunities than men to earn sawab in the month of ramazan?

It is not as if the woman experiencing her menstruation during Ramadan is allowed to waste her precious time by watching movies, or listening to songs, or engaging in vain deeds, etc….but other than praying and fasting, she is permitted to do ‘dhikr’, remember, praise, glorify, and extol her Lord Most High, make supplications, recite the Glorious Quran from her memory, and strive her utmost in seeking forgiveness and doing good deeds.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 91:

91      There is no blame on those who are infirm or ill or who find no resources to spend (in the Cause of Allah) if they are sincere (in their duty) to Allah and His Messenger: no ground (of complaint) can there be against such as do right: and Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.

 

Abu Musa al-Ashari (r.a.) reported that the Prophet (saws) said, "If a slave (of Allah) is sick or travels, he will get a reward for those acts similar to what he would get if he was healthy or at his place of residence."

 

If a woman who sincerely fears Allah and strives her utmost to worship her Lord were to miss some of her acts of worship in the blessed month of Ramadan only because of her natural state of menstruation….then in light of the above quoted narrations, it would be safe to assume that there would be absolutely no blame on the woman, nor any diminish in her rewards. And Allah Alone Knows Best.

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

 

 

Burhan