Fatwa ID: 01526

Answered by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Question:

Assalamvalykum.   I have recently discovered my wife is about 6-7 weeks pregnant.  Alhamdulilah we already have 5 children ranging from 8 yrs down to 2 yrs old.     In the last pregnancy there was a lot of problems; typically she was dehydrated was in and out of hospital frequently.  All the responsibility of looking after the other 4 children then was all on me alone.  Although, i do have an elderly mother, she won’t be able to help much.   I recall the last time I had a very difficult time in looking after the 4 children, feeding, washing clothes, changing nappies, shopping clothing them , looking after my pregnant sick wife and on top I was running a car business.    I used to get so exhausted tired and unable to continue, I regrettably missed many farz salaats during that time.   This time if she goes ahead with the pregnancy, the situation is going to be very difficult as I have to look after 5 children on my own; and she is most likely to be bed bound and dehydrated a lot.

 To complicate things further; I have major health problems; my back has a bent spine, I have a worn lumbar bone on one side of the back, all this causes back pain a lot and to make matters even worse, I have just suffered a slipped disc in the back 3 days ago; resulting in unbearable tormenting pain at times.  My question is can she abort the pregnancy in such difficult situation, where I will have to more than likely and out of weakness miss many fard salaat. I also have a bladder problem which means it takes me long to empty my bladder and need to go frequently to the toilet. When u have kids you have to look after all at once asking for food which i have to get from outdoors all the time the scene will be chaotic; in short can she abort the pregnancy as mine and her daily fard salaat is in danger of being missed. YOUR URGENT REPLY WILL BE APPRECIATED. JAZAKALLAH

Answer:

In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful.

I will firstly mention the Islamic ruling with regards to abortion.

According to the Shariah, the soul enters the body 120 days (4 Months) from the day the woman conceived.

It is narrated by Sayyiduna Ibn-Masud that the Prophet of Allah has said: “the seed of one of you remains in the womb of the mother for forty days in the form of a nutfah (sperm). Then it remains like a clot for another forty days and then for a same number of days like a lump of flesh.” (Sahih Bukhari)

Allahmah Ibn Abideen Shami has said that the soul enters the foetus at 120 days. (Raddul Muhtar P.336 V.4)

To have an abortion after 120 days is strictly prohibited. The ruling will still remain the same even though the child might be born with some kind of disability or with some genetic diseases.

However, some jurists have given permission to abort the pregnancy where the mother’s life is in absolute danger. In this situation the mother’s life is given preference to that of the child.

To have an abortion prior to 120 days is also impermissible and haraam. However in certain extreme circumstances it would be permitted, such as the mother’s life or health is in danger or the woman became pregnant due to rape etc…

After consulting my respected teachers, the conclusion we came to was that in the aforementioned scenario it will not be permissible to have an abortion. I understand that having a child in this situation may be challenging but it is Allah’s decree to bless you with a child so therefore, be happy with Allah’s will and try raising the baby to the best of your ability.

I will conclude by saying that in such a situation, you should have been careful of your actions. It would have been best to taken precaution by using contraception’s to avoid your wife falling pregnant.

Only Allah Knows Best

Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham.