Question

Is the following Hadith authentically reported by Ibrahim Nakha’i (rahimahullah)?

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) has said: “The minimum period of menses is three days and the longest period [of menses] is 10 days; and the minimum period [of purity] between the two menses is 15 days.”

 

Answer

‘Allamah Marghinani (rahimahullah) has alluded to this narration in his Kitab Al-Hidayah.

(Al-Hidayah, vol. 1, pg. 64, Maktabah Rahmaniyah edition)

Allamah Zayla’i and Hafiz Ibn Hajar (rahimahumallah) have mentioned that they could not find this Hadith.‘

(Nasbur Rayah, vol. 1, pg. 199, and Ad-Dirayah, vol. 1, pg. 88)

‘Allamah ‘Ayni (rahimahullah) has stated that this particular narration [reported via Ibrahim Nakha’i – rahimahullah] does not exist in any of the books of Hadith.

(ليس هذا موجودا في الكتب المتعلقة بنفس الحديث والأخبار)

(Al-Binayah, vol. 1, pg. 551; Also see: Al-‘Ilalul Mutanahiyah, vol. 1, pg. 382-383, Number: 640, Fathul Qadir, vol. 1, pg. 164 onwards, Al-Binayah, vol. 1, pg. 515 onwards, ‘Umdatul Qari, Kitabul Haydh, Chapter 24, At-Ta’rif wal Ikhbar, Hadith: 72, Fathu Babil ‘Inayah, vol. 1, pg. 132 onwards, Raddul Muhtar, vol. 2, pg. 250, and I’ilaus Sunan, vol. 1, pg. 353)

 

And Allah Ta’ala knows best.

Answered by: Mawlana Farhan Shariff

Approved by: Mawlana Muhammad Abasoomar,

Note: My Honourable Teacher; Al-‘Allamatul Muhaddith, has  -in his new annotations to Nasbur Rayah (after Hadith 641)- cited a narration of Sayyiduna Anas (radiyallahu ‘anhu) from Imam Bayhaqi’s Al-Khilafiyyat vol. 1, pg. 561 (992) with a similar meaning. Although the chain is debated by some.