Islam strictly forbids intercourse during a woman’s menstruation based on Quranic verses and prophetic traditions. The act is considered a serious sin, and intimacy may only resume after the period ends and Ghusl is performed. If a husband insists, the wife must refuse and is not sinful if she is forced.

There is nothing wrong for women who are in menses or bleeding after childbirth to make Du`a, read the Quran (without touching the Mus-haf), or read books of Tafsir.

1- The majority of jurists say that a woman cannot read the Quran during her period until she is pure. However, some scholars say that it is permissible for a menstruating woman to recite the Quran. 2- As for touching the Quran during menses, the correct view is that it is forbidden to touch the mus-haf when one is in any kind of state of impurity.

Some scholars say that the maximum period of Nifas is 40 days, others say it is 60 days and some say there is no limit to the maximum number of days a woman can be in a state of Nifas. The most predominant opinion is that the maximum period is 40 days.

If blood continues to flow and a woman is still waiting to purify herself, and it exceeds 15 days, then she should fall back to her normal period as a reference. So, she must make ghusl, start praying, and make up the prayers for the days which she did not pray since the time when her normal period would have ended.