Menstruation during الحج is a common concern that النبي Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) addressed directly and with compassion. When Aisha (رضي الله عن her) began menstruating during her الحج, she was distressed, and النبي reassured her by saying: 'This is something that Allah has decreed for the daughters of Adam. Do everything that the الحجاج do, except do not perform الطواف around the House until you are purified.' This foundational hadith establishes the principle that menstruation does not invalidate or prevent الحج — it only restricts الطواف.
A menstruating woman may perform all rites of الحج without restriction except الطواف around the الكعبة, which requires ritual purity. She may: enter and remain in the state of الإحرام; stand at عرفة (the greatest pillar of الحج); proceed to مزدلفة; stay at منى; throw pebbles at the الجمرات; have her hair cut; sacrifice an animal; make du'a; recite dhikr; and perform السعي between الصفا and المروةh (عند the majority view, السعي does not require الوضوء). She should not enter the مسجد area of al-المسجد الحرام during menstruation, though the open courtyard areas (mata'f) have been discussed by contemporary scholars for cases of necessity.
The farewell الطواف (الطواف al-wada) is waived entirely for menstruating women, based on the explicit hadith of Ibn Abbas. This is agreed upon by all four schools and represents a genuine concession (rukhsah). As for الطواف al-Ifadah — which is a pillar (ركن) of الحج and cannot be waived — the woman should ideally wait until she is purified to perform it. If she cannot wait (for example, her travel group is departing and she cannot stay), the Hanafi school permits her to perform الطواف al-Ifadah in a state of menstruation, with a dam (sacrifice) as penalty. Other schools require her to wait, and some contemporary scholars have extended the Hanafi concession for genuine hardship cases.