Islam is the religion of cleanliness, and every Muslim should take special care of the purification of his or her body. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, “Purification is half of faith.”
It was a customary practice among Muslim women in the past to have special clothes for stemming the menstrual blood. Modern tampons are not much different from what women used in the past. Hence, there is nothing wrong with women using tampons if it is easier for them.
Sheikh Muhammad Saleh Al-Munajjid, a prominent Saudi Muslim lecturer and author, states the following: “The Muslim is always commanded to avoid impurity or najasah in all its forms. Allah the Almighty says, “And purify your garments” (Al-Muddaththir: 4)
Menstrual blood is impure or najis, and if it gets on a woman’s clothes, she has to wash it. With regard to these tampons, we should refer to what women customarily use. At the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the women used to wear special clothes at the time of menstruation, because it was narrated that Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) said, “My period came when I was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so I slipped away from him and put on the clothes I used to wear when I was menstruating” (Al-Bukhari).
In Islamic Shari`ah, permissibility is the original rule governing things as long as there is no evidence to indicate prohibition. So, it is not correct to say that this is not allowed. In fact, there are reports which indicate that it is permitted to use cotton to check the flow of blood.
It was narrated from Hamnah bint Jahsh that she menstruated at the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and she came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “I have a strong, prolonged flow of blood.” He said to her, “Block it with cotton.” She said, “It is greater than that. My blood gushes.” He said, “Consider yourself to be on your menses each month for six or seven days known to Allah, then perform ghusl and pray and fast for twenty-three or twenty-four days. Delay Zhuhr Prayer and bring `Asr forward, and perform ghusl for them. And delay Maghrib and bring `Isha’ forward and perform ghusl for them. This is the more beloved of the two ways to me” (Reported by Ibn Majah)
Based on the above, there is nothing wrong that Muslim women use modern tampons.”