Short answer
Islam keeps her close. During her period, the Prophet's (ﷺ) rule for husband and wife was: do everything except intercourse. She does not pray during her period, and she never has to make up those prayers. The Law of Moses is much stricter. Leviticus says she is set apart for seven days. Anyone who touches her is unclean until evening. Anyone who touches her bed or her seat must wash and bathe. In Medina, some people of his time would not even eat with her. When the Companions (his closest followers) asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about this, he told them to do everything except intercourse. His wife Aisha said that during her period he drank from the very spot her lips had touched. He would lean on her lap and recite the Qur'an.
Full explanation
What Leviticus commands
The Law sets a woman apart for seven days of her period. Whoever touches her is unclean until evening. Her bed and anything she sits on become unclean. Whoever touches them must wash his clothes and bathe. A man who lies with her is unclean for seven days. A later chapter says both are to be cut off from their people.
“And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.”
“And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.”
“And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.”
What the Qur'an commands
The Qur'an answers a question about women's courses (periods). It tells husbands to keep away from their wives until they are clean. One English translation says 'a hurt and a pollution'. The Arabic word is adha, which means harm or discomfort. It describes the flow itself, not the woman. The Qur'an says nothing about her touch, her bed or her seat making anyone unclean. The Prophet (ﷺ) explained what 'keep away' means.
“They ask thee concerning women's courses. Say: They are a hurt and a pollution: So keep away from women in their courses, and do not approach them until they are clean. But when they have purified themselves, ye may approach them in any manner, time, or place ordained for you by Allah. For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.”
Anas reports that among the Jews, when a woman had her period, they would not eat with her or share a house with her. The Companions asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about this, the verse on menstruation (2:222) was revealed, and the Prophet said: do everything except intercourse.
How the Prophet (ﷺ) explained it
A hadith (a report of what the Prophet (ﷺ) said and did) tells us about the Jews of that time. They would not eat with a woman during her period or live with her in the house. His Companions asked about this. The Prophet (ﷺ) told them to do everything except intercourse. So the verse is not to be read as the old separation.
Anas reports that among the Jews, when a woman had her period, they would not eat with her or share a house with her. The Companions asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about this, the verse on menstruation (2:222) was revealed, and the Prophet said: do everything except intercourse.
“They ask thee concerning women's courses. Say: They are a hurt and a pollution: So keep away from women in their courses, and do not approach them until they are clean. But when they have purified themselves, ye may approach them in any manner, time, or place ordained for you by Allah. For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.”
How he lived it
Aisha, the Prophet's (ﷺ) wife, reports that while she had her period he drank from the cup where her lips had been. He ate from the bone after her. He leaned on her lap and recited the Qur'an. Once he asked her to hand him a mat from the mosque, and she said she had her period. He told her that her period was not in her hand. Women did not pray during their periods, and they were never asked to make those prayers up.
Aisha reports that while she was having her period she would drink from a vessel and hand it to the Prophet (ﷺ), and he would put his mouth where hers had been and drink; and she would eat from a bone and he would do the same.
Aisha reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) would lean on her lap and recite the Qur'an while she was having her period.
Aisha reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) asked her to hand him the mat from the mosque. When she said she was having her period, he told her that her menstruation was not in her hand.
Asked whether a woman must make up the prayers she left during her period, Aisha replied that in the Prophet's (ﷺ) time women having their periods were not required to make them up.
| Point | Leviticus | The Qur'an and the Prophet (ﷺ) |
|---|---|---|
| Living together | She is set apart for seven days | Everything except intercourse |
| Touching her | Whoever touches her is unclean until evening | He drank from where her lips had been |
| Her bed and seat | Unclean; whoever touches them must wash and bathe | He leaned on her lap and recited the Qur'an |
| Intercourse | The man is unclean seven days; elsewhere both are cut off | Keep away until she is clean |
The Christian answer, and the reply
Hebrews 9:10 — Epistle to the Hebrews, chapter 9, verse 10
“Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.”
Cited for
The laws of Leviticus 15 were temporary rules for Israel. Christ has ended them, so they say nothing about how Christianity treats women.
The response
The rules still stand in the Bible that Christians call God's (﷾) word. The Qur'an agrees that the old burdens were lifted. It names the one who lifted them: the Prophet (ﷺ), sent to release the People of the Book from their heavy burdens and yokes. It then gives a clear rule in their place. The Prophet's (ﷺ) own home shows how it is lived.
Where it lands — The Bible's text still makes a woman on her period unclean to the touch. Islam lifted that burden and put a gentle, clear rule in its place.
Perspectives
Mainstream Christian
The purity laws of Leviticus were given to Israel for a time. Christians hold that they ended with Christ and do not bind the church.
Hebrews describes the washings and bodily rules of the old covenant as imposed only until the time of reformation.
Rebuttal
Hebrews says the old washings lasted only until a "time of reformation". It gives no rule in their place, and Leviticus still calls her unclean to the touch. The Qur'an names who lifted those burdens: the Prophet (ﷺ). He explained that "keep away" means only intercourse waits, and she stays at the heart of her home.
The Islamic perspective
The final revelation lifted the old burdens. A woman on her period stays at the heart of her home. The Prophet (ﷺ) ate and drank with his wife, rested in her lap and recited the Qur'an. Intercourse waits. The Hanafi, Maliki and Shafi'i schools (three of the schools of Islamic law) also ask the husband to keep a covering between navel and knee.
The four schools agree she is not shunned; they differ on touch between navel and knee
Leviticus makes a woman on her period, and whatever she lies or sits on, unclean to the touch.
The Prophet (ﷺ) explained that the Qur'an's "keep away" does not mean shunning her. Against the custom of not even eating with her, he told them to do everything except intercourse.
The Prophet (ﷺ) shared cup and food with Aisha during her period and recited the Qur'an resting in her lap.
Women need not make up the prayers they left during their periods.
The Qur'an says why the Prophet (ﷺ) was sent to the People of the Book. It was to release them from the heavy burdens and yokes upon them.