impurity, as in many other religions. All that the Holy Qur’ān says about menstruation is that conjugal relations should be discontinued during the state of menstruation: “And they ask thee about menstruation. Say: It is harmful; so keep aloof from women during the menstrual discharge” (2:222).15 According to Ḥadīth, a woman is exempted from saying her prayers, or keeping the fast, as long as menstruation lasts. As regards pilgrimage, she may perform all obligations except ṭawāf (making the circuits of the Ka‘bah), but there is no idea of impurity attaching to her in this condition. There is a very large number of ḥadīth showing that all kinds of social relations with women in this condition were permitted, that the husband and wife could occupy the same bed, that the Holy Prophet used to recite the Holy Qur’ān when sitting in close contact with his wife who had her courses on, and that a woman in this condition was allowed to handle the Holy Qur’ān (Bu. 6:2, 3, 5, 6, 7). There is, however, a ḥadīth from which the conclusion is drawn that a woman should not enter the mosque during the menstrual discharge, but evidently there is some misunderstanding here, for if she could handle the Holy Qur’ān why could she not enter the mosque? The ḥadīth runs thus: “ ‘Ā’ishah says that the Holy Prophet said to her, Hand me over the mat from the mosque. I said I am in a state of menstruation. The Holy Prophet said, Thy menstruation is not in thy hands” (AD. 1:104). Apparently the Holy Prophet wanted a mat which was in the mosque and he asked ‘Ā’ishah to hand it over to him. Now the general opinion concerning a menstruating woman, before Islām, was that she was defiled, and ‘Ā’ishah’s reply seems to have been given under that impression. The Holy Prophet’s reply, on the other hand, clearly shows this conception to have been a mistaken one, and that menstruation did not defile a woman; it was quite a different thing that she was required to abstain from saying her prayers when in that state. There is, however, another ḥadīth which represents the Holy Prophet as saying: “I do not make the mosque lawful for a menstruating woman or for a person who is under an obligation to perform a total ablution” (AD. 1:93). But this ḥadīth has been called weak and cannot therefore be relied on. Or, the mosque here simply represents the prayer service from which such persons are exempted. As the ḥadīth quoted earlier show, there