Does this verse instruct men to treat wives as unclean when on their periods?
Answer
The instruction to “stay away” from women during menstruation specifically means not to have sexual intercourse with them, while lesser forms of intimacy—and indeed spending time together as a family—continue to be valid.
To understand the verse properly, some historical context is worth noting. It is reported that the reason that the Companions asked the Prophet ﷺ about menstruation is that the Arabs of Madinah and its surrounding areas had taken to imitating the Jewish practice of avoiding dining or cohabiting with their wives when they were menstruating. This verse was revealed with the answer.
Imam Muslim reports on the authority of Anas b. Malik:
The Jews, when a woman among them would be in menstruation, would neither eat with her nor live with her in their houses. The Companions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ asked him about this, so Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He, revealed “And they ask you about menstruation. Say: It is a harmful thing, so, avoid women during menstruation; and do not approach them until they are clean. But when they have cleansed themselves...” until the end of the verse. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said: “Do everything except intercourse.” When the Jews heard this, they said: “This man does not want to leave anything from our affairs except that he opposes us in it!” (Sahih Muslim)
When the menstruation ends, a woman should take the ritual bath after which sexual intercourse with her husband becomes lawful again.
Summary
The command to stay away from women while they are menstruating is a prohibition of sexual intercourse in particular and does not require abstention from other forms of interaction or physical intimacy.
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