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Sunday, July 1, 2012

Shareeah Ruling on aborting a pregnancy.

Ruling on aborting a pregnancy in the early stage


What is the ruling on aborting a pregnancy in the early months (1-3) before the soul is breathed into the foetus?. 



Praise be to Allaah.  
The Council of Senior Scholars issued the following statement: 
1 – It is not permissible to abort a pregnancy at any stage unless there is a legitimate reason, and within very precise limits.  
2 – If the pregnancy is in the first stage, which is a period of forty days, and aborting it serves a legitimate purpose or will ward off harm, then it is permissible to abort it. But aborting it at this stage for fear of the difficulty of raising children or of being unable to bear the costs of maintaining and educating them, or for fear for their future or because the couple feel that they have enough children – this is not permissible. 
3 – It is not permissible to abort a pregnancy when it is an ‘alaqah (clot) or mudghah (chewed lump of flesh) (which are the second and third periods of forty days each) until a trustworthy medical committee has decided that continuing the pregnancy poses a threat to the mother’s wellbeing, in that there is the fear that she will die if the pregnancy continues. It is permissible to abort it once all means of warding off that danger have been exhausted. 
4 – After the third stage, and after four months have passed, it is not permissible to abort the pregnancy unless a group of trustworthy medical specialists decide that keeping the foetus in his mother’s womb will cause her death, and that should only be done after all means of keeping the foetus alive have been exhausted. A concession is made allowing abortion in this case so as to ward off the greater of two evils and to serve the greater of two interests. 
Al-Fataawa al-Jaami’ah, 3/1056



My wife went to the doctor and it was proven that she was one month and eight days pregnant. We had agreed not to have children for a certain length of time because my wife is sick and cannot bear the hardships of pregnancy. Is it permissible to abort the pregnancy or not? Please note that we had agreed not to have children only for that certain length of time

Praise be to Allaah.
If the wife is sick and cannot bear the hardships of pregnancy, then it is permissible to abort the foetus within the first forty days of the pregnancy, according to the view of a number of scholars. 
It says in a report issued by the Council of Senior Scholars: 
1 – It is not permissible to abort pregnancy at various stages thereof, except for a shar’i reason, and within very narrow limits. 
2 – If the pregnancy is in the first stage, which is the first forty days, and aborting it is for a legitimate shar’i purpose or to ward off harm, then it is permissible to abort it. As for aborting it at this stage for fear of hardship in raising children or for fear of not being able to afford the expenses of raising and educating them, or for fear of their future or because the couple is happy with the number of children they already have, that is not permissible. 
3 – It is not permissible to abort a pregnancy if it is a ‘alaqah or mudghah (i.e., in the second and third forty-day periods of pregnancy) unless a committee of trustworthy doctors has determined that allowing it to continue will pose a danger to the safety of the mother because they fear that she will die if it continues. In that case it is permissible to abort it after trying all other means to avoid risk to the mother. 
4 – After the third stage, and after four months of pregnancy have been completed, it is not permissible to abort it unless a number of trustworthy specialists have determined that leaving the foetus in his mother’s womb will cause her death, and after exhausting all means of trying to save his life. A concession allowing abortion subject to these conditions is only granted so as to ward off the greater of the two evils and achieve the greater of the two interests. End quote from al-Fataawa al-Jaami’ah (3/1056). 
And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A



I would like to know the rulings that have to do with abortion of the foetus at various stages.
Praise be to Allaah.  
Firstly: 
We have already stated in the answer to question no. 42321 the ruling on abortion. Please refer to this information. 
Secondly: 
With regard to the rulings following an abortion, they vary according to the time of the abortion, and fall into four categories, as follows: 
1 – If the pregnancy is aborted within the first two stages (the nutfah (drop) stage which results from the mixing of the “two waters” which is the first forty days after the embryo attaches itself in the womb, and the ‘alaqah (clot) stage where it turns into solid blood during the second forty days), which add up to a total of eighty days, then in this case if it is aborted as a nutfah or ‘alaqah, there are no rulings to be followed, and there is no scholarly dispute on this point. The woman should continue to fast and pray as if she had not had an abortion, but she has to do wudoo’ for each prayer if she has any bleeding, as in the case of a woman suffering from istihaadah (non-menstrual vaginal bleeding). 
2 – If the pregnancy is aborted in the third stage, the mudghah (chewed piece of flesh) stage, when the embryo looks like a piece of meat with the limbs and features beginning to appear, which lasts for forty days from the eighty-first to the one hundred and twentieth day, then there are two scenarios:  
(i)                This embryo does not have any human features and the midwives or other attendants did not testify that this was the beginning of a human being. In this case the ruling on abortion of this mudghah is the same as the ruling on abortion in the first two stages, and there are no rulings to be followed.
(ii)              The embryo has complete human features or some human features  such as a hand or foot, etc, or there are features but they are indistinct, or the midwives or other attendants testified that this was the beginning of a human being. In this case the rulings on nifaas are to be followed, and this signals the end of ‘iddah (waiting period following divorce or death of the husband, if applicable). 
3 – If the pregnancy is aborted in the fourth stage, i.e., after the soul has been breathed into the foetus, which is after the beginning of the fifth month or after one hundred and twenty days of pregnancy have passed. Here there are two scenarios: 
(i)                If the foetus did not cry after birth, then the rulings mentioned with regard to the second stage of the mudghah are to be followed, but in addition the foetus should be washed, shrouded and the funeral prayer offered for him; he should be given a name and the ‘aqeeqah offered for him.
(ii)              If the foetus cried after birth, then the rulings concerning a full-term baby apply, as mentioned above; in addition the child may take possession of wealth bequeathed or inherited; he may inherit or be inherited from, etc. 
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 21/434-438.
Islam Q&A



What is the ruling on a husband who tries to make his wife abort against her wishes in the second month of pregnancy because he wants to divorce her, by giving her medicine that will cause that to happen, even though he did not manage to bring about an abortion? Is that halaal or haraam? What is the expiation for doing that?. 
Praise be to Allaah.  
Aborting a pregnancy is not permissible, whether the soul has been breathed into the embryo or not, but if that is after the soul has been breathed in, the prohibition is more emphatic. 
If a husband tells his wife to abort a pregnancy, it is not permissible for her to obey him. 
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 
Trying to abort a pregnancy is not permissible if it is not proven that the foetus has died; if that is proven then it is permissible. 
Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Ibraaheem, 11/151 
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him) said: 
Firstly: 
It is not permissible to abort a pregnancy. Once pregnancy is discovered, it must be protected and it is haraam for the mother to harm the pregnancy or disturb it in any way, because it is a trust that Allaah has placed in her womb and it has rights, so it is not permissible to mistreat it, harm it or destroy it. 
The shar’i evidence indicates that it is haraam to abort a pregnancy. 
The fact that a baby cannot be born without an operation is no excuse for abortion; many women only give birth by means of an operation (i.e., caesarian), so this is no excuse for aborting the pregnancy. 
Secondly: 
If the soul has been breathed into the foetus and it has started to move, then it is aborted after that and it dies, then (the woman) is regarded as having killed a soul and she is obliged to offer expiation by freeing a slave; if that is not possible, then she must fast for two consecutive months in repentance to Allaah. That is if four months of pregnancy have passed, because in that case the soul has been breathed into the foetus. If it is aborted after that, then kafaarah (expiation) as described must be offered. This is a serious matter which cannot be taken lightly. If a woman cannot bear a pregnancy for reasons of sickness, then she has to take medication to prevent getting pregnant in the first place; she may take contraceptive pills to delay getting pregnant for a while, until she regains her health and strength. 
Al-Muntaqa, 5/301-302 
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about a man who said to his wife: “Abort what is in your womb and the sin will be on me.” If she does that and listens to him, what expiation will they have to offer? 
He replied: 
If she does that, then they both have to offer expiation by freeing a believing slave; if that is not possible then they have to fast for two consecutive months and they have to give a male or female slave to the heir  that did not take part in the killing, and not to the father, because the father is the one who ordered that he be killed, so he does not deserve anything. 
“A male or female slave” is the diyah (blood money) for the foetus, i.e., the value of a male or female slave, which the scholars stated is equivalent to one-tenth of the diyah for his mother. 
We have already discussed the ruling on abortion in more than one answer. Please see questions no. 133174232112733
With regard to the expiation for that, because the pregnancy was in the second month or before the soul had been breathed into the foetus, and the abortion did not take place, then no expiation is required. But what is required is repentance to Allaah from this haraam action. And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A


And Allaah knows best


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