[Fatwa] – Can a Menstruating Woman Touch the Deceased? – Shaykh Thanaullah Madani

Translated

Abu Khuzaimah Ansari

Question: Can a menstruating woman touch the deceased or does she have to be in a state of Wudhu to touch the dead person?

Answer: A woman who is menstruating can touch the deceased’s body because in principle she is clean and pure. It is transmitted from Anas RadhiAllahu Anhu in Sahih Muslim, the customary norm of the Jews was to separate from their menstruating women even while eating and drinking. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said it was permissible to maintain all relations with wives except sexual. The Qur’an says,

“…Keep away from women during menses…” (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:222)

This is what the ayah means, i.e. to stay away from your wives when they are on their menses. In the same manner Ai’shah RadhiAllahu Anha said,

“He (The Prophet ﷺ) ordered me to wear an izar (lower garment) and he would fondle me while I was on my menses.” (Agreed upon, Sahih al-Bukhari, Chapter: Fondling a Menstruating Woman, no.300)

This hadith is an evidence that a woman’s body is in of itself clean even while she is menstruating, therefore it is permissible for a menstruating woman to touch a deceased’s body. We learn from these proofs, a woman, in of herself is pure and therefore it is not necessary to be in a state of wudhu to touch the deceased.

(Fatawa Thana’yyah Madaniyyah, 3/79-80).