Question:

Assalamualikum wrwb respected Mufti, 

 

I have found out that I am 6 weeks pregnant, around 40 days. I am 40 years old and I have 3 children that are 18, 14 and 4. I am exhausted and I don’t think I am mentally able to have another child. I won’t be able to do proper tarbiyat of my 4 year old or my 14 year son who is at a very rebellious age and he needs a lot of attention. My husband also works a lot and is not as present in raising the kids. I am not able to naturally give birth and have had C sections for all my kids. This would be my 4th C section so It will be a higher risk for me. I want to know if it will be haram for me to abort? Jazakumullah Khair.

Answer:

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Wa alaikumussalam.

Dear sister in Islam,

First of all, we would like to applaud you for investigating the Islamic ruling for abortion in an era and country where you could have easily gotten an abortion had you so desired. Your desire to follow the dictates of Allah ﷻ is a sign of your true faith and we ask Allah ﷻ to keep you steadfast on his religion and commandments.

Indeed, as you have stated, raising children is no easy task and requires the parents’ utmost attention as she is not simply raising children but the future leaders and neglect in properly disciplining the child and tending to their pastoral needs will result in the creation of a spoilt generation. 

And so while child-rearing may be difficult and challenging, in the Quran, Allah ﷻ tells us that our job to try our best and follow his commandments. Beyond that, we need to constantly entreaty Allah ﷻ to accept our efforts and to bring forth its fruits. When the disbelievers of Makkah would kill their children in fear of poverty, Allah ﷻ reassured them that “We will provide for them and you (Q17:31)”. In other words, once we have fulfilled our duty, we need to trust Allah to do the rest. 

However, this means that both parents need to be involved in child rearing. Child rearing is not the sole responsibility of the mother. A child needs both parents to be involved in his life to prepare him for adulthood and the challenges of life. You state that your husband is working a lot and is “not as present in raising the kids”. While we do not have the necessary information to make decisive judgments regarding your family’s circumstances and understand that costs of living are on the rise, we can offer some general advice. Often times, parents can trick themselves into working overtime under the veneer of “providing for children”. They will make sure that their children receive the best education, the best toys, and the best standard of living. However, in doing so, the child may lose out on what he needs the most which is the care, love, and attention of his parents. If it is possible for your husband to reduce his workload to help you out with child rearing, we would strongly recommend it. While we applaud your husband for taking financial responsibility of the house and not making you work, there is no point in frittering away our entire lives in work for the sake of our children only to miss out on the most joyful moments in their lives and to have no connection with them. It is better to live a modest life where our bare minimums are met but where we are able to see our children grow up than a life where our children get to experience all the luxuries of life but be bereft of the blessing of spending time with their father. As such, if it is financially viable, we would advise you to sit down with your husband and discuss these issues. 

Provision is in the hands of Allah ﷻ. Even a little bit of money can be sufficient with barakah while millions of dollars can prove insufficient if it lacks barakah. Allah ﷻ promises those who adopt taqwā that he will provide them (Q65:2). As such in order to secure the barakah that Allah ﷻ bestows, we need to ensure that no haram money is entering our household and that no haram food enters our mouths. Both you and especially your husband must beseech Allah ﷻ every day for barakah in your time and wealth as well as for the disciplining of your children as the duʿā of the father is not rejected (Tirmizi 1905). 

As for the Islamic ruling on abortion with regards to your specific case, you should consult a religious, competent Muslim doctor. If his judgement is that continuing the pregnancy will pose a severe risk to your health, you may get an abortion, but only if the fetus is not yet 120 days old. Otherwise, it will be haram to get an abortion.[1]

And Allah Ta'ala knows best.

Mufti Muhammad Haris Siddiqui
 25/07/2022

Checked and approved by:
 Mufti Faizal Riza

 Darul Ifta Australia
 www.fatwa.org.au

 

 

[1] الدر المختار وحاشية ابن عابدين (رد المحتار) (3/ 176) 

 

(قَوْلُهُ وَقَالُوا إلَخْ) قَالَ فِي النَّهْرِ: بَقِيَ هَلْ يُبَاحُ الْإِسْقَاطُ بَعْدَ الْحَمْلِ؟ نَعَمْ يُبَاحُ مَا لَمْ يَتَخَلَّقْ مِنْهُ شَيْءٌ وَلَنْ يَكُونَ ذَلِكَ إلَّا بَعْدَ مِائَةٍ وَعِشْرِينَ يَوْمًا، وَهَذَا يَقْتَضِي أَنَّهُمْ أَرَادُوا بِالتَّخْلِيقِ نَفْخَ الرُّوحِ وَإِلَّا فَهُوَ غَلَطٌ لِأَنَّ التَّخْلِيقَ يَتَحَقَّقُ بِالْمُشَاهَدَةِ قَبْلَ هَذِهِ الْمُدَّةِ كَذَا فِي الْفَتْحِ، وَإِطْلَاقُهُمْ يُفِيدُ عَدَمَ تَوَقُّفِ جَوَازِ إسْقَاطِهَا قَبْلَ الْمُدَّةِ الْمَذْكُورَةِ عَلَى إذْنِ الزَّوْجِ. وَفِي كَرَاهَةِ الْخَانِيَّةِ: وَلَا أَقُولُ بِالْحِلِّ إذْ الْمُحْرِمُ لَوْ كَسَرَ بَيْضَ الصَّيْدِ ضَمِنَهُ لِأَنَّهُ أَصْلُ الصَّيْدِ فَلَمَّا كَانَ يُؤَاخَذُ بِالْجَزَاءِ فَلَا أَقَلَّ مِنْ أَنْ يَلْحَقَهَا إثْمٌ هُنَا إذَا سَقَطَ بِغَيْرِ عُذْرِهَا اهـ قَالَ ابْنُ وَهْبَانَ: وَمِنْ الْأَعْذَارِ أَنْ يَنْقَطِعَ لَبَنُهَا بَعْدَ ظُهُورِ الْحَمْلِ وَلَيْسَ لِأَبِي الصَّبِيِّ مَا يَسْتَأْجِرُ بِهِ الظِّئْرَ وَيَخَافُ هَلَاكَهُ. وَنُقِلَ عَنْ الذَّخِيرَةِ لَوْ أَرَادَتْ الْإِلْقَاءَ قَبْلَ مُضِيِّ زَمَنٍ يُنْفَخُ فِيهِ الرُّوحُ هَلْ يُبَاحُ لَهَا ذَلِكَ أَمْ لَا؟ اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ، وَكَانَ الْفَقِيهُ عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُوسَى يَقُولُ: إنَّهُ يُكْرَهُ، فَإِنَّ الْمَاءَ بَعْدَمَا وَقَعَ فِي الرَّحِمِ مَآلُهُ الْحَيَاةُ فَيَكُونُ لَهُ حُكْمُ الْحَيَاةِ كَمَا فِي بَيْضَةِ صَيْدِ الْحَرَمِ، وَنَحْوُهُ فِي الظَّهِيرِيَّةِ قَالَ ابْنُ وَهْبَانَ: فَإِبَاحَةُ الْإِسْقَاطِ مَحْمُولَةٌ عَلَى حَالَةِ الْعُذْرِ، أَوْ أَنَّهَا لَا تَأْثَمُ إثْمَ الْقَتْلِ اهـ. وَبِمَا فِي الذَّخِيرَةِ تَبَيَّنَ أَنَّهُمْ مَا أَرَادُوا بِالتَّحْقِيقِ إلَّا نَفْخُ الرُّوحِ، وَأَنَّ قَاضِيَ خَانْ مَسْبُوقٌ بِمَا مَرَّ مِنْ التَّفَقُّهِ، وَاَللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْمُوَفِّقُ اهـ كَلَامُ النَّهْرِ

 

المحيط البرهاني (٨٣/٨) 

 

ان ارادت ذلك بعد مضي مدة ينفخ فيه الروح لأنها تصير قاتلة فانه اعتبر حيا علي ما عليه الظاهر فلا يحل لها ذلك كما بعد الانفصال  

 

 

 

شرح منظومة ابن وهبان (ص.١٧٠) 

 

وفي الذخيرة: ...قالوا ان كانت ارادت الالقاء بعد ما مضي مدة ينفخ فيه الروح فانه لا يباح لها ذلك لأنها تصير قاتلة فانه اعتبر حيا علي ما عليه الظاهر فلا يحل لها ذلك كما بعد الانفصال

 

قرارات المجمع الفقهي الإسلامي بمكة الكرمة في دوراته العشرين الإصدار الثالث ص.٥١٩

 

امداد الفتاوی ج.4 ص.202 مکتبہ دار العلوم کراچی

فتاوی محمودیہ ج.18 ص.202 جامعہ فاروقیہ

فتاوی رحیمیہ ج.10 ص.190 دار الاشاعت

 

Family Planning and Abortion, Qaadhi Mujahidul Islam, pg 21