# Do I have to be in a state of purity to say verses of the Quran?

*Ritual purity, menstruation and revelation in Aisha's bed: a natural deen*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/1zghntbmpis/s/9/
- Date: 2021-01-12 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #197 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (39:18–44:32)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zgHntbMPis&t=2358s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/1zghntbmpis/

**Topics:** Purification; False and fabricated hadith; Women in Islam

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth says religion should be natural, not ritualistic: the menstrual state is not impure, and revelation came to the Prophet while in bed with Aisha.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says these kinds of hadiths are to him an encouragement showing that the deen ought to be very natural to our lives.

**Evidence, his words at 43:52:** “these kind of hadiths are to me and an encouragement to show that the deen ought to be very natural to our lives” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zgHntbMPis&t=2632s)

## Longer summary

Speaking of puritanism, Mufti Abu Layth criticises the idea that one must be in a particular ritual state even to say a dua that happens to be in the Quran. He cites a report that the Prophet did not return a greeting until he had wiped on a wall, saying he disliked mentioning God except in a state of purity, and says the second part is not a valid hadith, though the mentality it carries circulates. He asks who said the menstrual state is impure, noting nothing in the Quran or valid sunnah says so, and explains that women in the past may have stayed away from the mosque for lack of sanitary products, not impurity. He then cites the hadith that revelation came to the Prophet while he was under Aisha's blanket, an intimate yet natural state, and says such hadiths show him that the deen ought to be natural to our lives, not an artificial impediment.

## Sources and names cited

- report: the prophet did not return the greeting until he wiped on the wall i disliked to mention allah except in a state of purity
- hayd (menstruation)
- report: revelation came to me while i was under the blanket of aisha
- Aisha

## Transcript (machine tier, 39:18–44:32)

[38:39] i feel that sometimes you see it's like a fever it's in many ways reflective of the body trying to heal itself even though there's discomfort and i feel that this is an opportunity to reconnect to a pure a purer more more pristine natural understanding of islam sha allah insha allah a deen which is of ease seriously let me let me you know

[39:18] speaking of puritanism there's a very fascinating hadith that i um i'll bring to your attention i was i was reading it just perchance actually the other day um our perception of revelation how people will say you know the quran and it is look we must respect the quran as muslims and we must give it that sanctity but when you're just reciting the quran like let's just say you're not even reciting the entire quran you're just saying

[39:56] a part of it or you're saying something like you're just saying something which happens to be in the quran as well like a dua or something there's this understanding that oh my god you know you must be in a particular ritual state you must be you know it's disrespectful to just say it like this you can't just you know there's a very uh a puritanist approach which is very unnatural it takes you out of and this is a hadith which is not even sahih by the way there's a hadith of the prophet he wants somebody gave him salam

[40:35] and he didn't return it and then he kind of did on the wall and that part people have said is fine but then this next part is actually naive but you know it's it's been portrayed as a hadith that he said woman he said i didn't you know the uh the thing preventing me from returning your salam was that i was not in a state of purity now this is not a valid hadith but it's circulated and this mentality exists that this state in which you become disconnected from god

[41:15] and that's not true you know people have said the menstrual state is an impure state why is it an impure state who said it's an impure state i mean is it in the quran is there any valid sunnah that where this is from we would you get i can understand you can say oh well certain women in the time of the prophet weren't going to the masjid yes i mean 1400 years ago you can understand i mean even a thousand years ago 800 years ago having sanitary facilities having just the use of things like

[41:55] tampons and tampax and stuff like this these sanitary pads or the alternatives is is not something that women have had the luxury of throughout history so you can understand that yes you know people may have refrained just out of uh you know just just kind of thinking that oh what if i have my kind of cycle or something whilst i'm here or you know i don't and that could be an embarrassment for them but where did it say that they were impure he never said that now some people just

[42:34] interpreted that same thing you know this impurity and spirit and there's a hadith now check this out there's a hadith that the prophet speaking about one of his wives speaking about aisha radhiallahuanha he says that revelation would descend on me like it would open up to me i i would have this whether it's in a vision state or i would have revelation her whilst i'm in

[43:13] her kind of duvet if you like of the day and age they called it lehaf in bed with her i mean you know in one hand such an intimate kind of state not it didn't say that he was the prophet that they were that there was something sexual but it is an intimate a very um an intimate yet a very natural state you know fiddly half just just a person in bed just it's a very natural state of

[43:52] being just and revelation there was no contradiction this is not a and in many ways this kind these kind of hadiths are to me and an encouragement to show that the deen ought to be very natural to our lives okay it should never be this kind of artificial impediment that's to me and and i don't know if that makes sense to you guys but yeah i thought i'd share

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment 1zgHntbMPis/s/9. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/1zghntbmpis/s/9/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.