Sayyida is a woman who descends paternally from the Prophet Muhammad through Fatima al-Zahra. In ritual law this status matters in a specific narrow context: the menopause threshold for hayd.
How the marjas read it
- A. Sistani (Ruling 433): Sayyida and Qurayshi are treated as synonymous. Both apply the 60 lunar years menopause threshold.
- A. Khamenei: A. Khamenei does not issue a binding ruling on the menopause threshold for hayd; he refers muqallids to another mujtahid (rujūʿ) on this question.
- A. Makarem Shirazi (ISSUE 194): The threshold is 50 lunar years for Sayyidah and non-Sayyidah alike, except for women counted from the tribe of Quraysh, who apply 60 lunar years. Makarem treats the determination as something the user makes for herself.
Tools
- Menopause / yās calculator. Shows the threshold for each marja that issues one, with a note for A. Khamenei muqallids.
Primary sources
- A. Sistani · 433 Menopause threshold. Sixty lunar years
The bleeding that women above the age of sixty expe rience is not ruled to be ḥayḍ; however, a woman can experience ḥayḍ between the age of fifty and sixty, although the recommended precaution is that women who are not Qurayshi (sayyidah)46 and who experience bleeding which would previously have been ruled to be ḥayḍ [i.e. had they experienced it before the age of fifty, it would have been ruled to be ḥayḍ], should refrain from doing the things that are unlawful for a ḥāʾiḍ to do and perform the duties of a mustaḥāḍah.
- A. Makarem Shirazi · ISSUE 194 Menopause: 50 lunar years for non-Qurayshi, 60 for Qurayshi
Sayyidah women and non-Sayyidah women become menopausal [Yaa`isah] after their completion of fifty years, without any difference (between the two). Meaning, that when she sees blood after completing fifty years, she does not consider it the blood of Haidh, except when she is counted from among the tribe of the Quraish. They become menopausal after completing sixty years.