by Asma bint Shameem There’s a difference of opinion among the scholars about the maximum number of days of menses.
The stronger opinion is that there’s no minimum or maximum limit for menses, unless it’s going on for most of the month.
As long as she sees blood or colored discharge, it’s counted as her menses.
If however this bleeding lasts for almost all of the month, then in this case you take whatever was the ‘norm’ for her before this continuous bleeding, as her menses. And the rest of the days as Istihaadhah
Dr. Bilal Phillips said:
“The scholars differed concerning the maximum length of menses. The correct view is that there is no minimum or maximum length of menses, and that a woman’s period may become longer or shorter.
What matters is that the blood that comes out is menstrual blood, regardless of how long it lasts.”
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:
“Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah], Ibn al-Mundhir and a number of scholars said:
“It is not correct to set a specific time limit.
When a woman sees the blood that women recognize as menstrual blood, then it is menses.
The evidence for that is as follows:
Allah says:
"They ask you concerning menstruation. Say: that is an Adha (a harmful thing for a husband to have a sexual intercourse with his wife while she is having her menses)..."
(Surah Al-Baqarah 2:222)
The words “Say: that is an Adha” imply a ruling connected to the reason, which is that it is ‘adha’.
So if this blood, which is the adha, is seen, and it is not bleeding from a vein, then it is deemed to be menses.”
And he said:
“There are some women who may remain pure (i.e., free of menses) for four months, then the menses may come and last for an entire month. It is -- and Allah knows best -- as if it is saved up then comes all at once. And there are some women who menstruate for three days every month, or four or five or ten days.”
(Al-Sharh al-Mumti‘, 1/402)
Based on this, your period is the days on which there is bleeding, until you see the tuhr (white discharge signalling the end of the period), even if it lasts for more than fifteen days, so long as the bleeding does not continue for the entire month or only stops for one or two days, in which case it is istihaadah (non-menstrual bleeding).”
So the stronger scholarly opinion is that there’s no maximum number of days for menses to last.
As long as it’s either blood or colored discharge, and it is connected to the ‘main’ bleeding, it will count as your period unless this situation lasts for almost the whole month.
Then in that case, count the days you usually have the menses, and consider them your period and the rest of the days will be counted as Istihaadhah.
Don’t worry about the prayers you missed in this situation.
Just make them up and you will not be sinful for missing them because you did not miss the prayers out of negligence or laziness.
Rather, you genuinely thought that’s your menses and you were trying to obey Allaah to the best of your ability.
And Allaah knows best
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