Women's Purity According to the Bible and the Qur'an

: If a woman has a discharge of blood from her body, as is the custom of women, she shall be in her menstrual period for seven days, and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening. And everything on which she lies or sits during her menstrual period shall be unclean; and whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.Whoever touches anything on which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. (Leviticus 15:19-22)

And if a woman’s blood flows for many days, other than at the time of her menstrual bleeding or after it, she shall be unclean all the days of her flow, as in the days of her menstrual bleeding…

And on the eighth dayshe shall take for herself two turtledovesor two young pigeons, and bring them to the priest, to the door of the tent of meeting. And the priest shall present one of them to the Lord as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. And thepriest shall make atonement for her before the Lord for the flow of her uncleanness. (Leviticus 15:25-30)

Commentary

The Bible describes a woman’s menstruation as a highly contagious disease that can be transmitted to others by mere touch . In addition, it considers the discharge of blood from a woman as a sin for which she must repent!

In Islam, a woman’s menstruation is not considered a sin or a contagious filth. Rather, the husband and wife can do everything except sexual intercourse, which is harmful, as stated in the Quran.

What the Quran says:

They ask you about menstruation. Say, “It is a harmful thing, so keep away from women during menstruation, and do not approach them until they are pure. Then when they have purified themselves, then come to them from where Allah has ordained for you. Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves.” (Al-Baqarah: 222)