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Fatwa CenterThe woman disposes of these things in a safe way
Question
I was wandering if you could clarify this matter for me. I have been told that when a woman is menstruating, the sanitary napkins she uses should be washed before wrapping it up in paper and throwing it into the rubbish. What does Islam say about this? Is it alright if a woman just wraps it up in paper then put it into the rubbish? Your answer would be greatly appreciated.
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. We are not aware of any obligation that a woman should remove impurity from a garment or a piece of cloth that she does not need or which she intends to throw in the garbage. Abu Dawood and others narrated in a sound chain of narration from Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was once asked by some of the companions: 'Should we make ablution using the water of Budha'ah (a well where pieces of cloth used by menstruating women and dead dogs are thrown)?' He (peace be upon him) then said: 'Water is pure and cannot be profaned by anything'. This Hadith (Prophet's saying) is evidence that women during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to throw away such impure pieces of cloth without cleaning them. So, a woman is not bound to clean the cloth she uses while in her menstruation period before discarding it. But she must not throw it in a place in which people take shade, in their way, or in any place that others use, according to the Hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him): Avoid the two evil things. It was asked: "And what are the two evil things, O Messenger of Allah?" He answered: "To answer the call of nature in the people's way or place of shade. [Narrated by Abu Dawood in an authentic chain of narration] Allah knows best.
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