[2:222] They will ask you about the monthly period. Say: 'It is an ailment; so part with women in the monthly period, and do not approach them until they are pure; when they have cleansed themselves, then come to them, as God has commanded you'.
Not everything which is a cause for embarrassment and aversion is from what the servant freely chooses, for it might be among the deficiencies whose acquisition cannot be attributed to the servant, but rather is, from the beginning, a decree of the Real. Among these is what God destined for the daughters of Adam in this condition. Moreover, they were commanded to withdraw from the place of prayer during the times of this condition since the place of prayer is a place of intimate conversation (manājin) with one's Lord. So setting a time in which the place of conversation is to be avoided is a decree from God, not a sin of theirs. In this is an allusion, for it is said that even if they are prevented from prayer, which is being present through the body, they are not prevented from perpetual remembrance (dhikr) in the heart and tongue. That is an address on the carpet of nearness. The Prophet (ṣ) said, relating from God Most High, 'I am the sitting companion of him who remembers Me'.
[2:222 cont'd] Truly, God loves those who repent, and He loves those who cleanse themselves.
It is said He loves those who repent from sins (dhunūb) and those who cleanse themselves from defects (ʿuyūb).
It is said those who repent from error and those who cleanse themselves from imagining that their salvation is through repentance.
It is said those who repent from doing forbidden things and those who cleanse themselves from familiar things and ordinary considerations.
It is said those who repent through the water of seeking forgiveness and those who cleanse themselves by the pouring of the water of shame through the quality of brokenness.
It is said those who repent from error and those who cleanse themselves from heedlessness.
It is said those who repent from witnessing the repentance and those who cleanse themselves from imagining that anything is by error rather than by the decree that originates from God Most High.