You need not worry; you can still attain all of the blessings of the last days of Ramadan by engaging in all other devotions except Salah (Prayer): You can thus freely occupy yourself with dhikr, du’a, listening to the Qur’an, as well as any number of other charitable works and deeds; and thus you can catch up with those who are performing prayers in the most blessed days.

To further explain: As the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Menstruation is what Allah has decreed on the daughters of Adam”, and the shari’ah is His laws, which is a reflection of His mercy and grace. He has revealed laws that are based solely on human welfare; as He Himself is wholly Self-Sufficient and beyond all wants, needs and limitations.

In other words, even as He decreed menses for women, He also decreed that they should be spared of the rigors of worship when they undergo the same: It is all solely based on His infinite mercy and wisdom.

Yet the shari’ah is always based on the law of compensation: As Imam Shah Waliullah has rightly pointed out, one of the assumptions of the divine laws is that if anyone is unable to partake of a specific act of devotion for no reason of his/her own, shari’ah provides ample other ways and means whereby he or she can compensate for the loss and thus attain the same rewards. Thus a person who is not able to fast, because of health reasons, can derive the same blessings by engaging in other activities such as prayer; a physician who is prevented because of his unavoidable medical practice from making i’tikaf can avail the same by seeking the pleasure of Allah through his benevolent work; a poor person who cannot afford to give charities can gain the same blessings by making dhikr and du’as and other charitable works such as visiting the sick, looking after widows and orphans, etc.

Similarly, a woman in menses can achieve the same rewards as those who spend the last days in prayer and i’tikaf, by engaging in dhikr and du’a, or listening to the Qur’an or engaging in whatever activities she is able to do. The Prophet’s advice to his beloved wife Aishah, the mother of the faithful, is worthy of mentioning: He advised her to pray consistently: Allaahumma innaka afuwwun tuhibbu al-‘afwa fa’fu annee

(O Allah, You are Forgiving; You love to forgive, and so forgive (my sins) for me). Likewise, simple repeating of phrases such as laa ilaaha illa Allah (there is no god but Allah) ; astaghfiru Allah (I seek forgiveness of Allah), etc., also entail limitless blessings and rewards. So never despair of Allah’s mercies. May Allah help us all to come out of this blessed month fully cleansed and purified, and rendered worthy of attaining freedom from hell-fire and admission into the blissful paradise-aameen.