Nothing Is Taboo

Once istinjāʾ has been made properly — cleansed and dried with the relevant paper — the next step is not to rush straight to wuḍūʾ; the adab is to perform istibrāʾ first. But before that, a point about candour is worth setting down plainly: inna Allāha lā yastaḥyī min al-ḥaqq, Allah (swt) never shies away from telling the truth, and there is no taboo subject in Islam. There is not a single subject touching human life from which one shies away; everything may be discussed within manners and within adab.

A woman once came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and asked: does the thing that happens to men also happen to women, and in that case are they permitted, or indeed required, to make ghusl? ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her), sitting beside him, coloured at the question — pink, then blue, then red — her face saying plainly that shame had been put upon a woman by asking such a thing. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) turned to her: "O ʿĀʾishah, Allah (swt) is never, ever shy of telling the truth, of speaking the truth." He then answered the woman according to her need: yes, if there is wetness on her underclothing, she does indeed need to make ghusl.

Another woman came and asked the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): my bleeding does not stop. He told her much the same — that one of her jidār, one of the walls, evidently had a fault, a vein that was not working properly, so that she had a sickness, a condition, an excuse, and the rulings laid down for a person of excuse were to be followed accordingly. There is, then, not a single subject that cannot be discussed in Islam — anything and everything — within manners, within adab, within etiquette. The toilet may seem the most private of matters, but there is no such thing as private when it comes to Islam; nothing is too private to be addressed, so long as it is addressed with adab. Adab is the key word throughout.