Question:
If the baby in my womb of 4 months old has malformation like incomplete formation of the skull, is it permissible to abort the pregnancy?
Answer:
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
Aborting pregnancy among Muslim women is a current phenomenon which becomes a domestic and international issue. However, it is not something new and is already discussed by the scholars in classical and modern Fiqh books.
The ruling of aborting babies in the womb is be divided into two categories; aborting pregnancy before the age of 4 months and aborting after the age of 4 months. This is based on the Prophet PBUH’s saying from Ibn Mas’ud RA:
إنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ يُجْمَعُ خَلْقُهُ فِي بَطْنِ أُمِّهِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا نُطْفَةً، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ عَلَقَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ مُضْغَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يُرْسَلُ إلَيْهِ الْمَلَكُ فَيَنْفُخُ فِيهِ الرُّوحَ
Verily the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother’s womb for forty days in the form of a nutfah (a drop), then he becomes an alaqah (clot of blood) for a like period, then a mudghah (morsel of flesh) for a like period, then there is sent to him the angel who blows his soul into him
Sahih al-Bukhari (3208) and Sahih Muslim (2643)
Aborting pregnancy of four months or less than that is included under matters disagreed upon by the scholars because in that period of time, souls are not yet blown into the fetus. Majority of the scholars state that its ruling is haram. Some said that its ruling is makruh. While some are of the opinion that its ruling is permissible with certain conditions. Refer Mausu’ah Fiqhiyyah Kuwaitiyyah (2/58-59), Nihayah al-Muhtaj (8/416). Kindly refer the previous discussion through our article on this issue under the topic: “Al-Kafi #659: The Ruling of Aborting Pregnancy for Busy Career Women” [1]
However, it is permissible to abort pregnancy even if the soul is blown into it (after reaching 4 months) if it may harm the mother’s life. Refer Mausu’ah Fiqhiyyah Kuwaitiyyah (2/57)
The 26th Convention of Fatwa Committee of National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs Malaysia convened on 7th March 1990 states:
- According to the scholarly consensus (ijma’), it is haram to abort pregnancy aged more than 120 days because abortion is considered as the crime of killing upon fetus which is blown by soul unless the abortion is to save the mother’s life due to extreme malformation.
- It is makruh to abort pregnancy aged between one to 40 days if it causes harm towards the mother and granted the consent from both husband and wife.
- The scholarly consensus (ijma’) are of the opinion that the ruling of aborting pregnancy before 120 days is permissible if the fetus is malformed and with illnesses that may harm the mother’s life.
The convention has decided that it is haram to abort pregnancy unless due to extreme malformation which may harm the mother’s life.
Conclusion
Based on the above excerpt, discussion and fatwa, we conclude that baby in the womb aged 4 months and above is prohibited to be aborted unless the reason of abortion is to save the life of the mother due to extreme malformation and after consulting authorized medical experts.
Our advice is for the questioner to consult the opinion of authorized medical experts on the condition of the baby and the possible effects towards the mother and baby if the baby is not aborted.
May Allah SWT give us goodness and true understanding in His Shari’a as well as give us strength to practice it. Ameen.