Fataawa Rahimiya

[saleha]

In a book of du'as, there's an istighfaar:

Subhanaka Astaqfiruullaha lazi la ila illa huwal qayum

which if a menstruating woman reads after performing wodhu during the time of every prayer, then she'll be greatly rewarded. The source of this is Fataawa Rahimiya. I would appreciate it very much, if you would please tell me about it.

[Imam]

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

Wa'alaykum 'Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu



Praise be to Allah who is the lord of the Worlds, and may Endless Blessings be showered upon His Most Beloved, and Final Messenger of Islam, Hadrat Muhammad Mustufa (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa aalihi wa Sallam)


Jazak'allah for your question. It is clear from the question in the 'Fatawa-e-Rahimiyyah' that a woman cannot pray salaah, or recite the Qur'an al kareem, and according to the answer of the question, it states that other than this, she can recite other forms of dhikr, and recitations, which is stated to be permissable, not prohibited.


It further states, that rather it is mustahib for her, that at the time of every salaah, she performs her wudhu', sits on her prayer mat to the extent of performing her salaah, while she recites:

'Subhanaka astaghfirul lahal ladhi la ilaha illa huwal hayyul qayyum.'

Then so much reward shall be granted to her, and so much sins shall be erased, and so much rank shall be given to her. The reference that has been given is that of the Arabic version of Majalis-al-Abrar, page 567.


By saying it is mustahib, means that if she does it she shall be rewarded, and if she doesnt do it, she shall not be rewarded, there is no sin in this.


By performing the wudhu', it means that it will not make her pure, as in free from menstruation, but she will still be blessed by the action of performing wudhu'. Just as in a hadith of the Beloved Messenger of Allah (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam), which stated that He (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam), performed wudhu' after He had consumed some meat, nevertheless, it does not mean that everytime we eat meat, we have to perform wudhu'. It merely means that it will be mustahib, and the defintion of what is mustahib has already been stated above.


Being in menstruation does not mean that the woman can no longer gain any reward. Of course she can. With the correct intention. Although she may have been exempted from performing salaah, and touching the Qur'an al kareem, can nevertheless recite dhikr, (not Qur'anic recitation, but by broken letters, known as 'ijjay'), cook food, give sadaqah, give water, have good manners, keep her gaze down etc. albeit there are 101 things that she can do, and still gain reward. That principle still also applies here. She can similarly perform wudhu' and ghusl, but she will not be exempted for the reward of that. This is what the 'Fatawa' is talking about.


I hope that the explanation that I have given is a little more clearer to you, and that if there are any further issues, that you will question again. Once again, I am sorry for the delay it has taken in answering your question, that I was trying to find 'kitab-ad-Du'a', after gaining access to the book, when in reality Fatawa Rahimiyyah, does not have a kitab-ad-Du'a.


Any way, may Allah the Almighty give us all the tawfiq, to say that which is clear, and prevent from that which is misunderstood. (Amin)



Wallahu A'lamu Biththawaab



M. Waseem Ashrafi