Q: I am pre-menopausal and have not had my ghaid (menstrual periods) for 3 months. This month I got my ghaid but it has been for twice as long as I normally get it. Do I take the entire number of days as ghaid or only the number of days that I would normally have had my ghaid for?
A: You should consider all the days of bleeding as haidh (ghaid). However, should the bleeding continue for more than 10 days for a Hanafi, or more than 15 days for a Shaafi, then your haidh will be the normal bleeding of the past, that is the number of days you would bleed three months ago. The rest of the bleeding will be istihaadah.
But if the bleeding lasts for the maximum of 10 or 15 as per the different math-habs, the whole amount must be taken as haidh.
Mufti Siraj Desai