Abortion if baby’s or mother’s life at risk
Question
(1) If a woman is pregnant and her life is at risk from pregnancy, is it lawful for her to terminate the pregnancy?
(2) If a woman is pregnant with a fetus that is very unhealthy, it will have a terminal illness, short lifespan, and a very low quality of life, can they decide to terminate their pregnancy so as not to harm the baby?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
Answer
(1) In matters relation to abortion and risk of the mother’s life, we advise affected families to consult a Mufti as soon as possible and share all the relevant information including the doctor’s medical advice. This is because the ruling can differ based on individual circumstances. In exceptional circumstances, pregnancies can be terminated before the soul (rūḥ) enters the fetus, which according to most jurists is 120 days. However, this is a decision for a Mufti after taking into account the full circumstance. Aborting after the soul enters the fetus is tantamount to killing a baby.
(2) The default position is that a pregnancy cannot be terminated. It should be noted that there are examples of people who are now healthy, who were deemed a risk when they were in their mothers’ wombs. Therefore, in such scenarios of risk to the baby’s health, the pregnancy should not be terminated and the matter left to Allah Almighty.
قال الله تعالى: إن الله عنده علم الساعة وينزل الغيث ويعلم ما في الأرحام، الآية. وقال تعالى: ولا تقتلوا أنفسكم. وقال تعالى: وإذا الموؤدة سئلت بأي ذنب قتلت. وقال عبد الله بن مسعود: حدثنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو الصادق المصدوق، قال: إن أحدكم يجمع خلقه في بطن أمه أربعين يوما، ثم يكون علقة مثل ذلك، ثم يكون مضغة مثل ذلك، ثم يبعث الله ملكا فيؤمر بأربع كلمات، ويقال له: اكتب عمله، ورزقه، وأجله، وشقي أو سعيد، ثم ينفخ فيه الروح، الحديث، رواه البخاري (٣٢٠٨)۔
وقال ابن مازة في المحيط البرهاني (٨/٨٣، طبعة إدارة القرآن كراتشي): أما إذا أرادت الإلقاء بعدما وصل الماء إلى رحمها هل يباح لها ذلك؟ إن أرادت ذلك بعد مضي مدة ينفخ فيه الروح فليس لها ذلك؛ لأنها تصير قاتلة، فإنه اعتبر حيا على ما عليه الظاهر، فلا يحل لها ذلك كما بعد الانفصال. وإن أرادت الإلقاء قبل مضي مدة ينفخ فيه الروح اختلف المشايخ رحمهم الله تعالى فيه، قال بعضهم: يحل لها ذلك، لأن قبل مضي مدة ينفخ فيها الروح لا حكم لها، فهذا والعزل سواء. وفي فتاوى أهل سمرقند: إذا أرادت إسقاط الولد فلها ذلك إذا لم يستبن شيء من خلقه، لأن ما لا يستبين شيء من خلقه لا يكون ولدا. وكان الفقيه علي بن موسى القمي يقول: يكره لها ذلك، وكان يقول: مآل الماء بعدما وصل إلى الرحم الحياة، فإنه لا يحتاج إلى صنع أحد بعد ذلك لينفخ فيه الروح، وإذا كان مآل الحياة يعطى حكم الحياة للحال، كما في بيضة صيد الحرم، لما كان مآلها أن تصير صيدا أعطيت حكم الصيد، حتى إن من أتلف بيضة صيد الحرم ضمن، بخلاف العزل، لأن الماء قبل أن يصل إلى رحم المرأة ليس مآله الحياة، فإنه يحتاج إلى صنع بعد ذلك لينفخ فيه الروح، وهو الإلقاء في الرحم، أما ههنا فبخلافه. وفي نكاح فتاوى أهل سمرقند: امرأة مرضعة ظهر بها حبل وانقطع لبنها ويخاف على ولدها الهلاك، وليس لأب هذا الولد سعة حتى يستأجر الظئر، هل يباح لها أن تعالج في إسقاط الولد؟ قالوا: يباح ما دام نطفة أو علقة أو مضغة لم يخلق له عضو، لأنه ليس بآدمي. وذكر في الواقعات المرتبة في الباب الثالث من النكاح في تعليل المسألة أن خلقه لا يستبين إلا في مائة وعشرين يوما، انتهى۔
وفي الفتاوى الهندية (٥/٣٥٦): العلاج لإسقاط الولد إذا استبان خلقه كالشعر والظفر ونحوهما لا يجوز، وإن كان غير مستبين الخلق يجوز. وأما في زماننا يجوز على كل حال، وعليه الفتوى، كذا في جواهر الأخلاطي. وفي اليتيمة: سألت علي بن أحمد عن إسقاط الولد قبل أن يصور فقال: أما في الحرة فلا يجوز قولا واحدا، وأما في الأمة فقد اختلفوا فيه، والصحيح هو المنع، كذا في التتارخانية. امرأة مرضعة ظهر بها حبل وانقطع لبنها وتخاف على ولدها الهلاك وليس لأب هذا الولد سعة حتى يستأجر الظئر، يباح لها أن تعالج في استنزال الدم ما دام نطفة أو مضغة أو علقة لم يخلق له عضو، وخلقه لا يستبين إلا بعد مائة وعشرين يوما، أربعون نطفة وأربعون علقة وأربعون مضغة، كذا في خزانة المفتين. وهكذا في فتاوى قاضي خان، انتهى. وراجع رد المحتار (٣/١٧٦)۔
وقال ابن تيمية في فتاويه (٣٤/١٦٠): إسقاط الحمل حرام بإجماع المسلمين، وهو من الوأد الذي قال الله فيه: وإذا الموءودة سئلت بأي ذنب قتلت. وقد قال: ولا تقتلوا أولادكم خشية إملاق، انتهى۔
Allah knows best
Yusuf Shabbir
24 Rajab 1440 / 30 March 2019
Approved by: Mufti Shabbir Ahmed and Mufti Muhammad Tahir
Addendum
The writer wishes to highlight two important points:
First, 120 days is commonly understood to be the differentiator between the impermissibility of abortion and its permissibility if there is a need, and this is what is mentioned in many Fatwas. This, according to some, is based on the premise that the Rūḥ (soul) enters the foetus at 120 days, which in itself is not conclusive as outlined in the second point. According to others, it is based on the assumption that some of the limbs start to form (Istibānat al-Khalq) at 120 days. This, however, is not correct, despite being mentioned in some books, as outlined in two of our Fatwas entitled Bleeding during pregnancy and after miscarriage and Miscarriage at 100 days which conclude that some of the limbs of the foetus are formed within 7-8 weeks of conception, which is 9-10 weeks from the last menstrual period (LMP). Shaykh Salman Younas recently shared with me a draft of his detailed paper in English wherein he concludes that the ḥanafī position on the matter is the prohibition of abortion after Istibānat al-Khalq, which is when some of the limbs are formed. He further highlights that the misunderstanding has originated from the assumption of some scholars that Istibānat al-Khalq occurs at 120 days (which probably originated from the ḥadīth of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd, refer to second point). This also corresponds with the detailed beneficial Arabic research authored by Mawlānā Ḥudhayfah Motālā of Durban, South Africa, entitled ‘Ījāz al-Kalām fī Marāḥil Khalq al-Insān’. This is also the more cautious position particularly when considering the second point along with the views of the other schools of jurisprudence. Respected Muftis are requested to give this research and viewpoint some consideration, because this is a serious issue and abortions are on the rise.
Second, the traditional understanding of most scholars is that the Rūḥ (soul) enters the foetus at 120 days. This is based on the famous ḥadīth of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (d. 32/653, may Allah be pleased with him) transmitted in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (3208, 3332, 6594, 7454) and other books, which outlines the stages of pregnancy. The prevalent understanding of the ḥadīth, based on the wording of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, is that the first stage is of Nuṭfah (semen) for forty days, ʿAlaqah (clot of thick blood) for the next forty days, and Muḍgah (piece of flesh) for the next forty days and thereafter the Rūḥ enters the foetus. However, this does not appear to correspond with what is known scientifically about the stages in the pregnancy, because some of the limbs start to form within 7-8 weeks as mentioned above. Mawlānā Ḥudhayfah’s detailed research on the matter sheds light on this matter. Some contemporary Arab doctors have also written on this subject. The apparent wording of the ḥadīth of Ḥudhayfah (d. 36/656, may Allah be pleased with him) transmitted in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (2645) also does not correspond with this, because it states, “When forty-two nights pass (after) the semen (gets into the womb), Allah sends to it the angel and then gives him shape, and creates his hearing, his sight, his skin, his flesh and his bones …” The apparent of this corresponds with what was mentioned above that some of the limbs start to form within 7-8 weeks, although some have given preference to the ḥadīth of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him), whilst some have interpreted the ḥadīth of Ḥudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) to mean that after the first forty days, the process for the shape, form and the limbs begins and ends at 120 days. However, the wording of the same ḥadīth of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (2643) indicates that all three stages occur within the first forty days, which would then reconcile it with the ḥadīth of Ḥudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with them). Scholars need to give consideration to this issue, because if this is established, then it would affirm the possibility of the Rūḥ (soul) entering the foetus before 120 days, and thereby conclusively affirm the first point, by negating the first premise. If the first premise is also removed, then from a Fiqh perspective, there would be no justification for the 120 days limit. It is true that the ḥadīths do not specify exactly when the Rūḥ (soul) enters the body, which is why Mawlānā Ḥudhyafah also has not provided a definitive verdict on the timing. However, even if it is established that the three stages (Nuṭfah, ʿAlaqah, Muḍgah) occur within the first forty days, this in itself would leave no justification for the 120 days limit, because it is generally agreed that the Rūḥ (soul) enters the foetus after the Muḍgah stage, as explicitly mentioned in the ḥadīth of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (3208, 3332, 6594, 7454). This combined with the first point necessitates a rethink on the 120-day limit for abortion.
Allah knows best
Yusuf Shabbir
10 Rajab 1444 / 1 February 2023
