Menstruation during حج is a common concern that نبی کریم Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) addressed directly and with compassion. When Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) began menstruating during her حج, she was distressed, and نبی کریم reassured her by saying: 'This is something that Allah has decreed for the daughters of Adam. Do everything that the حجاج do, except do not perform طواف around the House until you are purified.' This foundational hadith establishes the principle that menstruation does not invalidate or prevent حج — it only restricts طواف.
A menstruating woman may perform all rites of حج without restriction except طواف around the کعبۃ اللہ, which requires ritual purity. She may: enter and remain in the state of احرام; stand at عرفات (the greatest pillar of حج); proceed to مزدلفہ; stay at منیٰ; throw pebbles at the جمرات; have her hair cut; sacrifice an animal; make du'a; recite dhikr; and perform سعی between Safa and Marwah (according to the majority view, سعی does not require وضو). She should not enter the مسجد area of al-مسجد الحرام during menstruation, though the open courtyard areas (mata'f) have been discussed by contemporary scholars for cases of necessity.
The farewell طواف (طواف 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 طواف al-Ifadah — which is a pillar (rukn) of حج 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 طواف 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.