In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Shaikh Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy upon him] said:

There is no specific age limit at which a woman stops menstruating, rather if after sixty or seventy years she sees the well-known blood from the womb, it would be considered menstruation. The stage – at which a woman no longer menstruates – mentioned in Allah’s statement- [ وَاللَّائِي يَئِسْنَ مِنَ الْمَحِيضِ – And those of your women as have passed the age of monthly courses] is not about a specific age because if it were a specific age, then Allah and His Messenger would have clarified it; but rather it is when a woman herself stops menstruating. If her menstrual blood ceases and does not return (permanently), she is considered to be one who has reached the stage at which a woman no longer menstruates, even if she is 40 years old; but if she waits for a time period and the blood returns, it becomes a fact that she did not reach that stage”. (1)

Imaam Muhammad Ibn Saaleh Al-Uthaymeen, may Allah have mercy upon him, was asked: “If a woman reaches the age at which she stops menstruating, her periods begin to come at prolonged intervals, after three months or more, and it occurs for six days; is this considered part of her menstrual circle and does she make up the prayers when he is cleanse of (menstruation)?

Answer: Women are different. Some of them them stop menstruation at an early age, and some of them their menstruation carries on until after sixty or seventy years. However, whenever a woman sees menstrual blood, she is considered a menstruating woman regardless of her the circumstances because Allah says:

واللآئي يئسن من المحيض

“And those of your women as have passed the age of monthly courses”.

Therefore, Allah did not specify a specific age because the stage at which a woman stops menstruating varies among women. In conclusion, menstrual blood, as Allah [The Exalted] described, is أذى – a harmful thing for a husband to have a sexual intercourse with his wife while she is having her menses, thus when this blood appears, it becomes obligated to her to do what it necessitates (i.e. stop praying and refrain from sexual intercourse). (2)

[1] Majmoo Al-Fataawaa 19/240

[2] Fataawaa Noor Alad Darb. Cassette Number 350