It’s not as if you’re not doing any ibaadah during your period. Of course, you do, but girls like me struggle to keep up with doing ibaadhah. This post is for them. I know how hard it is to stop worrying about not doing enough ibaadhah. I’ve been there so I can understand you.
But there’s no point in worrying if we cannot do something regarding it. This is why I thought of writing about it to find methods to do ibaadah during your period.
Allah (SWT) has made things easy for us. It’s we who complicate matters. Even if you are menstruating, you can still worship. There are several methods to keep yourself engaged in doing good deeds, so let’s discuss them below.
1. Do wudu (Ablution) often
Honestly, I don’t do wudu often during my period. I’d do wudu before going to bed, and that’s it, which means it’s less than the times I do wudu on regular days.
Until now, I didn’t think wudu itself is a blessing. It calms our minds and makes us feel fresh. Women know how irritated and annoyed they get during periods, so doing wudu often might help their mood and ibaadah. However, wudu seems like physical cleansing. If done right, it falls under spiritual cleansing.
Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said:
“When a bondsman-a Muslim or a believer-washes his face (in course of ablution), every sin he contemplated with his eyes, will be washed away from his face along with water, or with the last drop of water; when he washes his hands, every sin they wrought will be effaced from his hands with the water, or with the last drop of water; and when he washes his feet, every sin towards which his feet have walked will be washed away with the water or with the last drop of water with the result that he comes out pure from all sins.” – Sahih Muslim 244
So by doing wudu properly, you will not only feel better, it’s a chance to rinse your sins too.
2. Focus on sadhaka (charity)
Now that I mentioned sadhaka, it doesn’t have to be money. There are many other methods to engage in the act of sadhaka. For example, you can get rid of clothes that you don’t wear.
But I understand you’ll not be able to do anything during the first two days of your period. But after two or three days, you’ll be able to engage in things like cleaning, planting, etc.
If so, make use of this time to declutter your cupboard so that you can donate dresses that you’ve never worn. But make sure that the things you donate are in good condition.
Or you can consider cloth recycling. This is run by Islamic Relief, which is a non-government organization in the UK helping the needy. May Allah (SWT) bless and support their cause.
3. Make dhikr during the prayer time
This could be a bit hard to do until you practice it for some time. It’s imperative to engage in dhikr even if you are not menstruating. But this is one of those days when you feel like you’re not doing any ibaadah or you don’t feel attached to Allah (SWT).
This happens because, during your period, you don’t allocate time for prayers. So it feels as if you’re not doing anything to increase your good deeds. But the best solution to this problem is to make a lot of dhikr during prayer time. So even if you aren’t able to pray, you will be able to feel contentment by making dhikr.
The act of dhikr is pretty huge though we fail to understand the power. When you engage in making a lot dhikr, it means you’re keeping Allah in remembrance. This helps you block out other negative thoughts or weird feelings engulfing you.
It’s hard to keep your mind focused during your period or stop your thoughts from wandering. But with dhikr, you can keep distractions away. Meanwhile, you will also feel calmer. If you keep doing dhikr, your heart will urge you to engage in doing it more because the sense of happiness and solace it gives is magical.
4. Talk about Allah (SWT) and Islam
This is one of the things I do regularly, so it doesn’t change much when I’m menstruating. However, maybe I should talk a little more than I usually do. Doing so will make me feel better and that I’m actually engaging in some ibaadah.
This isn’t hard because, as someone who does this, when I talk about Allah (SWT) I feel lighter and happier. Isn’t it better to talk about Allah (SWT) than to talk about others and increase your bad deeds?
I’d prefer the former on any given day. Talking about Allah gives not only pleasure but also increases your merits. Sometimes, your words might increase another person’s imaan.
Thanks to social media, you have so many ways to make another person’s day better. There are platforms like Twitter, where you can tweet Islamic knowledge or tips about practicing Islam. There are many ways to engage other people in conversion to spread your knowledge or understanding about Islam.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“Convey (my teachings) to the people even if it were a single sentence, and tell others the stories of Bani Israel (which have been taught to you), for it is not sinful to do so. And whoever tells a lie on me intentionally, will surely take his place in the (Hell) Fire.” – Sahih al-Bukhari 3461
It’s always better to keep things minimal. If we overwhelm ourselves with choices, we’ll not meet at least one of them. This is why I thought of limiting my list to just four-pointers. We can get started slowly and continue with stability.
Also, Narrated `Aisha that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said:
“Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately and know that your deeds will not make you enter Paradise and that the most beloved deed to Allah is the most regular and constant even if it were little.” – Sahih al-Bukhari 6464
