The story of the Hajj of our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her.
The Mother of the Believers, Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, experienced menstruation during the days of Mina.
Who among the Mothers of the Believers experienced menstruation during the Farewell Hajj, other than our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her?
Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her.
Our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, says:
"Safiyyah bint Huyayy, the wife of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, menstruated during the Farewell Hajj."
It was from the mercy of Allah toward our mother Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, that her menstruation began only after she had performed the Tawaf al-Ifadah.
Our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, says:
"Safiyyah bint Huyayy, the wife of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, menstruated during the Farewell Hajj after she had performed the Ifadah."
Our mother ‘A’ishah did not mean that Safiyyah menstruated immediately after the Tawaf on the Day of Sacrifice.
Rather, she meant that she had menstruated having already completed the Tawaf al-Ifadah.
This is because the discussion regarding the possibility of the Mother of the Believers, Safiyyah, menstruating had taken place among the Mothers of the Believers before the Tawaf al-Ifadah.
Therefore, they were concerned that she might menstruate before performing the Ifadah.
Our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, says:
"We were afraid that Safiyyah would menstruate before she performed the Ifadah."
That is why our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, expressed it by saying:
"We performed Hajj with the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and we performed the Ifadah on the Day of Sacrifice, then Safiyyah menstruated."
As for exactly when she menstruated, our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
"Safiyyah bint Huyayy menstruated during the days of Mina."
The "days of Mina" refers to the Day of Sacrifice and the three days that follow it, which are the days of Tashriq.
Our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, clarified to us that this occurred on the night of departure from Mina.
This was the night of the fourteenth of Dhu al-Hijjah.
Our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, says: "Safiyyah menstruated on the night of departure."
So, my sister pilgrim, this is the second scenario regarding the onset of menstruation for a woman during Hajj.
It is that she menstruates during the days of Mina after having already performed the Tawaf al-Ifadah.
In this, there is a reminder for sisters on Hajj:
Not to delay the Tawaf al-Ifadah beyond the Day of Sacrifice,
For fear of menstruating before having performed the Ifadah.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sacrificed a cow on behalf of his wives.
On the Day of Sacrifice, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, slaughtered one cow on behalf of his wives.
As Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with them both, reported.
He said: "The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, slaughtered a cow on behalf of his wives during his Hajj."
Our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, explicitly stated that it was only one cow.
She said: "The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, slaughtered one cow on behalf of the family of Muhammad during the Farewell Hajj."
She even emphasized this by denying that it could have been more than one.
She said: "Nothing was slaughtered on behalf of the family of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, during the Farewell Hajj except for one cow."
This cow was for the Hady of Tamattu‘ on behalf of those of the Prophet’s wives who had performed ‘Umrah.
As Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
slaughtered a cow on behalf of those of his wives who had performed ‘Umrah, shared among them."
Preparing to leave Mina.
When it was the night of departure from Mina, which is the last night of the days of Tashriq,
The Mother of the Believers, Safiyyah, menstruated.
Our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, says: "Safiyyah menstruated on the night of departure."
It had been established among the Mothers of the Believers that a menstruating woman does not perform Tawaf around the House until she is pure.
Especially after the incident involving our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her.
They still had the Farewell Tawaf (Tawaf al-Wada‘) remaining.
So our mother Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, became certain that she would not be able to perform Tawaf around the House until she was pure.
She said: "I see nothing but that I am detaining you."
Meaning: I am preventing you from traveling and leaving Makkah until I am pure.
She said this based on her knowledge that the Farewell Tawaf is obligatory for the pilgrim.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, wanted to be intimate with his wives before moving out of Mina.
He was with our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her.
When he wanted to leave her and head toward Safiyyah’s tent to be intimate with her,
Our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, informed him that she had menstruated.
Our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, says:
"We performed Hajj with the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
We performed the Ifadah on the Day of Sacrifice, then Safiyyah menstruated.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, wanted from her what a man wants from his wife.
I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, she is menstruating.'
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, became angry, thinking she had not performed the Ifadah.
He said: '‘Aqran halqan!'
'I see nothing but that she is detaining us.'"
But our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, quickly corrected him,
And said to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him:
"She has already performed the Ifadah, O Messenger of Allah, and has performed Tawaf around the House."
When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, left the tent of our mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
Safiyyah was at the door of her tent, looking distressed.
He said to her: "'Aqran halqan! You are indeed detaining us.
Did you perform the Ifadah on the Day of Sacrifice?'
She said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Then depart.'"
As for the meaning of this phrase, ‘aqran halqan,
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, explained it, saying:
"His saying '‘aqran halqan'—with a fatha on both, followed by a sukun,
and shortened without tanwin in the narration.
It is permissible in the language to use tanwin, and Abu ‘Ubayd considered that correct,
because its meaning is an invocation of ‘aqr (wounding/barrenness) and halq (shaving/destruction).
Just as one says 'suqyan wa ra‘yan' (a prayer for rain and pasture),
and similar verbal nouns used for supplication."
According to the first view, it is a description, not a supplication.
The meaning of ‘aqran is "may Allah cause her to be ‘aqr,"
meaning: wounded, or it is said: "may she be made barren, unable to bear children."
It is also said: "may her people be wounded."
The meaning of halqan is "may her hair be shaved," which is a woman’s adornment,
or "may she be afflicted with pain in her throat."
Or "may her people be destroyed by her misfortune."
Al-Qurtubi mentioned that it is a phrase the Jews would say to a menstruating woman.
This is the origin of these two words.
Then the Arabs expanded their usage,
without intending their literal meanings,
just as they said: "May Allah fight him,"
"May his hands be covered in dust," and so on.
What caused the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
to be angry with our mother Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her,
and to rebuke her with this expression,
was his perception, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
that she had not performed the Tawaf al-Ifadah.
If that had been the case,
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
would have remained waiting for her until she became pure and performed Tawaf,
and only then would he have moved to depart for Madinah.
In this, there would have been hardship and delay
for the rest of the Companions who were with him
in the Hajj caravan from Madinah.
In this, O sister pilgrim,
are lessons, admonitions, and benefits
that will benefit you in your religion and your worldly life.
You should understand the desire of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
to be intimate with his wife before moving toward Madinah.
It may happen to you, if you are on Hajj with your husband,
that he desires to be intimate with you before moving to return.
Do not refuse on the pretext of preparing for travel.
You must be mindful of your actions during Hajj,
so as not to cause harm to the pilgrims
in one way or another,
especially regarding the timing of movement.
We often see that the reason for the delay
of the pilgrims' vehicle movement
is the woman, which causes harm and annoyance to the pilgrims.
This may anger the husband and cause him to pray against you
with such a supplication or similar.
So do not bring upon yourself what harms you.
The female pilgrim must also be mindful of the matter of menstruation,
and not hide the matter of her menstruation from her Mahram
or her guardian during the journey,
only to surprise him with the news at the last moment,
making it difficult for him to act,
causing him distress, and leading him to be angry with her.