In respect to their bleeding, women are categorised into three groups:
A Woman With a Habit (Muʿtada)
A woman who has a habit in menstruation and/or purity. She has experienced a valid menstruation (hayd) and a valid purity (tuhr), or one of the two.
Beginner (Mubtadiʾa)
A girl, who is 9+ lunar years, who bleeds for the first time. She has no habit to rely on as this is her first menstrual cycle. If her first bleeding is a valid blood and is followed by a valid purity she will no longer be considered a mubtadiʾa and will move into the muʿtada category for hayd and tuhr.
Confused/Uncertain (Mudilla or Mutahayyira)
Mudilla indicates someone who has lost something, while mutahayyira indicates a person who confuses another. In the context of menstruation, these terms are used interchangeably and refer to a woman who has forgotten her habit in hayd or nifas. She has no clear recollection or bleeding record of how many days she bled and when in the month she would normally bleed. This often happens when a woman is negligent in keeping a detailed record of her bleeding and purity.
