Kathīra is the heaviest tier of istihada. Blood soaks through the absorbent and emerges on the other side.
Requirements (A. Sistani 394)
- Three ghusls per day:
- One for Fajr.
- One for Zuhr combined with Asr.
- One for Maghrib combined with Isha.
- The ghusl replaces wudu for those prayers.
- The absorbent pad must be changed before every prayer.
Note
Per A. Makarem Shirazi (ISSUE 185–186), Kathīra is the only “heavy” category. The cases A. Sistani / A. Khamenei call Mutawassiṭa are folded into Kathīra here, with the same three-ghusl cadence.
Primary sources
- A. Sistani · 394 Heavy istihada (kathīra). Three ghusls per day
For excessive istiḥāḍah, a woman must, based on obligatory precaution, change or purify with water the piece of cotton [or sanitary pad/another absorbent item]. It is also necessary for her to perform one ghusl for ṣubḥ prayers, one for ẓuhr and ʿaṣr prayers, and one for maghrib and ʿishāʾ prayers. Furthermore, she must not delay between ẓuhr and ʿaṣr prayers nor between maghrib and ʿishāʾ prayers; if she delays between them, she must perform ghusl again for ʿaṣr and ʿishāʾ prayers. All of this applies when blood continuously soaks the piece of cotton [or sanitary pad/another absorbent item] and reaches the bottom of it. However, in the event that there is a delay in the blood soaking the piece of cotton [or sanitary pad/another absorbent item] and reaching the bottom of it to the extent that the woman can perform one or more prayers in that time, the obligatory precaution is that whenever the blood soaks the piece of cotton [or sanitary pad/another absorbent item] and reaches the bottom of it, she must change or purify it with water and perform ghusl. Therefore, if a woman performs ghusl and, for example, she performs ẓuhr prayers but before ʿaṣr prayers or during ʿaṣr prayers blood soaks the piece of cotton [or sanitary pad/another absorbent item] and reaches the bottom of it, then again, she must perform ghusl for ʿaṣr prayers based on obligatory precaution. However, in the event that the delay is to the extent that in that time, the woman can perform two or more prayers – for example, she can perform maghrib and ʿishāʾ prayers before blood reaches the bottom of it again – then for those prayers [i.e. maghrib and ʿishāʾ], it is not necessary for her to perform another ghusl. In each case, for excessive istiḥāḍah, ghusl suffices in place of wuḍūʾ.
- A. Makarem Shirazi · ISSUE 185–186 Two-tier istihada. Qalīla and kathīra only
For A. Makarem Shirazi, istihada has only two categories: Qalīla and Kathīra. The category A. Sistani and A. Khamenei call Mutawassiṭa is folded into Kathīra here, with the same three-ghusl cadence (Fajr alone, Zuhr+Asr combined, Maghrib+Isha combined).