Praise be to Allaah.
The scholars differed concerning menopause in women. Some of
them said that it occurs at the age of fifty years or sixty years; the
correct view is that there is no limit to it and it may vary from one woman
to another.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Women vary; some reach menopause at an early age, and some
continue menstruating until after the age of sixty or seventy. If a woman
sees menses then she is a menstruating woman, no matter what her situation
is, because Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, says (interpretation of
the meaning): “And those of your women as have
passed the age of monthly courses” [al-Talaaq 65:4], and He did
not mention any particular age. So menopause differs from one woman to
another.
To sum up, menses is, as Allah described it, an adha
(harm, illness, painful condition). When this bleeding occurs, she has to do
what is required. End quote.
Fataawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb by Ibn
‘Uthaymeen, 12/123
Based on that, if your mother had reached the stage of
menopause and stopped menstruating, then developed this problem, the blood
is not menses, so she should wash the blood away, wear a pad and do wudoo’
for each prayer.
If that happened to her before she reached the stage of
menopause, then she has to work out the days of her usual period each month,
then stop praying at that time. Then when that time ends, she should do
ghusl and start praying again, even if she is bleeding, because it is not
deemed to be menstrual blood.
The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas
said:
If a woman experiences continuous bleeding, when she wants to
pray, she should wash her private parts, then put a pad so as to prevent
leaks; then she should do wudoo’ and pray. She should do that at the time of
each prayer, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said to the woman who was experiencing istihaadah (irregular vaginal
bleeding): “Do wudoo’ at the time of each prayer.” End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah,
4/259
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked
about a woman who reached the age of fifty-six, whose menstrual period had
become irregular since the age of fifty. She would bleed two or three times
a month, lasting for up to nine days, with blood like menstrual blood. In
between the bleeding, she did not see any tuhr (white discharge indicating
the end of menses) or complete dryness. Every time she started bleeding, she
would stop fasting and praying. During this time, it was discovered that she
had a growth in her uterus, and the doctor said that it was causing the
bleeding. What should this woman do with regard to prayer, fasting and
marital relations. What is the ruling on the past six years?
He replied: If the doctors have determined that the bleeding
is due to sickness, then she is pure (taahir) and should pray and fast. If
that is not the case then she comes under the ruling on istihaadah; she
should stop praying and fasting for the length of her previous period each
month, then she should pray and fast even if she is bleeding, and she may
have marital relations with her husband. With regard to what is past, she
does not have to do anything, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) did not instruct women who suffered istihaadah to repeat
previous prayers. End quote.
Thamaraat al-Tadween, p. 25
And Allah knows best.