Short answer
In the Hanafi school, if any human feature of the baby had formed, such as a finger, nail or hair, the bleeding after a miscarriage is nifas. If nothing had formed, it is treated as a period when it lasts at least 3 days after 15 clean days, and otherwise as istihadah.
A miscarried foetus with some visible human form makes the woman a nufasa, so the bleeding is nifas (up to 40 days). If no form appeared, the bleeding is hayd when it meets the conditions of hayd (3 to 10 days after a 15-day purity), and istihadah otherwise. Scholars commonly take about 120 days of pregnancy as the point when form is certain.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Bleeding after the loss of even a clot or lump of flesh that is the beginning of a human is nifas.
Explanation
Losing a pregnancy is painful, and the fiqh questions come at a hard time. The Hanafi rule looks at whether the foetus had taken human form. If any part was visibly formed, a finger, a nail, hair, the outline of a limb, then the miscarriage counts as a birth for these rulings, and the bleeding is nifas.
If no human form had appeared, the bleeding is not nifas. It is then judged like any other bleeding:
- If it lasts 3 days or more, up to 10, and came after at least 15 days of purity, it is a period.
- If it is under 3 days, or came less than 15 days after purity, it is istihadah: make wudu and pray.
The classical books say form appears after about four months, and many fatwas use 120 days as a safe line. Doctors today can often see fingers and limbs much earlier on a scan. So the better practice is to ask your doctor or midwife whether any form was visible, and to tell your mufti the stage of pregnancy and what was seen. That is why this answer comes with a note to ask a mufti.
The baby's rulings also depend on the stage: whether a name, ghusl and janazah are given. Ask your local imam. See how long nifas lasts for the rules once it is nifas, and dua for hardship for comfort. Allah does not let the patience of a grieving mother go to waste.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:286
لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا ٱكْتَسَبَتْ ۗ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَآ إِصْرًۭا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦ ۖ وَٱعْفُ عَنَّا وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَٱرْحَمْنَآ ۚ أَنتَ مَوْلَىٰنَا فَٱنصُرْنَا عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ ﴿٢٨٦﴾
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people."
The rulings in hardship follow capacity and ease.
Sahih al-Bukhari 306
Sahih... إنما ذلك عرق وليس بالحيضة ...
"That is from a vein, it is not menstruation."
Shows that bleeding is judged by its kind: some bleeding is not menstruation.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on menstruation, section on nifas. A miscarried foetus with some formed features makes the bleeding nifas.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on menstruation, section on nifas. Form appears after about one hundred and twenty days; otherwise the blood is judged as hayd or istihadah.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.