The vocabulary.
Every term you'll encounter in Shia fiqh of menstruation, prayer, and fasting. Defined plainly, cited to A. Sistani's Islamic Laws.
Religious adulthood. The age at which religious obligations become binding. For girls in Shia fiqh, the threshold is 9 lunar years per A. Sistani / Khomeini (10 per Makarem ISSUE 195).
A material penalty (one mudd of staple food, ~750 g, per missed day) owed when Ramadan qada fasts are not made up before the next Ramadan due to a valid excuse.
A ritual bath that re-establishes major ritual purity. Required after hayd, nifas, janabat, and at the end of the daily istihada cycle.
Menstruation, in Shia Jaʿfari fiqh. A defined ritual state, not just a biological event. Bleeding is hayd only if it lasts at least three continuous days and at most ten.
A check performed to confirm a state has truly ended. The fiqh term refers to two different procedures depending on context; the one relevant to a Shia woman is the cotton-insertion check to verify hayd or nifas has stopped before declaring tuhr.
Non-menstrual vaginal bleeding. A ritual state distinct from hayd. The woman continues to pray and fast, but with extra purifications that vary by tier.
The heaviest tier of istihada. Blood soaks through the absorbent. Requires three ghusls per day and a fresh absorbent before each prayer.
A senior Shia jurist whose religious rulings a layperson follows. Tuhr supports three on day one. A. Sistani, A. Khamenei, A. Makarem Shirazi.
A trained female Islamic scholar / religious teacher. Plays an essential role in answering women-specific fiqh questions for the Shia community.
The medium tier of istihada per A. Sistani and Khamenei. Blood soaks the absorbent but does not pass through. Requires one ghusl per day plus one wudu per prayer.
Postpartum bleeding. A separate ritual category from hayd, with its own rules. Prayer and fasting are excused, ghusl is required when bleeding ends.
Make-up worship. For a Shia woman: missed Ramadan fasts due to hayd or other valid excuse must be made up later, before next Ramadan or with fidya.
The lightest tier of istihada per A. Sistani and Khamenei. Blood does not soak through the absorbent. Requires one wudu per prayer.
A descendant of the Quraysh tribe, paternally tracing to Hāshim. The category that determines whether the menopause threshold for hayd is 50 or 60 lunar years under both A. Sistani and A. Makarem Shirazi.
The "prayer of signs". Performed at solar/lunar eclipse, earthquake, or other major celestial/seismic event. Two rakʿats with five rukūs each.
A woman who descends paternally from the Prophet Muhammad through Fatima al-Zahra. In A. Sistani's reading, Sayyida and Qurayshi are treated as synonymous for the purpose of the menopause threshold for hayd.
The act of following the rulings of a chosen marjaʿ in religious practice. The mechanism by which non-experts apply jurisprudence to daily life.
Ritual purity. The absence of hayd, nifas, or major ritual impurity. The state in which all worship obligations apply normally.