Allah (may He be exalted) says: {And they ask you about menstruation. Say, It is harm, so keep away from wives during menstruation. And do not approach them until they are pure} [al-Baqarah 2:222]. What is meant by keeping away from wives in this verse is not having intercourse with them; as for anything other than that, the husband may do it, meaning that he may do everything except intercourse. This is what the Mother of the Believers ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) spoke of in this hadith, where she says: When one of us – meaning one of the wives of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) – was menstruating and the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) wanted to be intimate with her by kissing and so on, other than intercourse, he would tell her to wrap something around her waist at the beginning of her period, so she would wrap herself in an izar (lower garment or waist wrapper) to cover the area between the navel and the knees. That would happen at the beginning of her menses, or when the bleeding was at its heaviest. Then he would be intimate with her, so he would approach her and touch her, but he would not have intercourse with her. Then ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Who among you is able to control his desire as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was able to control his desire? This hadith indicates that one should not be put off by a menstruating woman or show dislike to her, in contrast to the Jews, who would not eat with a woman or sit with her if she was menstruating. It speaks of how the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) treated his wives kindly and paid attention to their condition. It also indicates that the body of the menstruating woman and whatever she wears are both pure (tahir)..