What is the ruling on dissecting a fetus if it is aborted
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The questioner : Yes, may Allah reward you with good. I am suffering from recurrent miscarriage. And knowing that all the tests are normal, the doctor advised me that when the fetus comes down, they dissect it to know the cause. Is this permissible or not? I mean, if it is fourteen or fifteen weeks old?
The Shaykh : I say that this is looked into. If the fetus has fallen while alive, then it is not permissible to dissect it, because dissecting it means killing it.
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : As for if the soul has not been breathed into it, meaning before four months, then there is no harm in dissecting it.
The questioner : Yes. May Allah keep you safe.
The Shaykh : As for if it is after the soul has been breathed into it, but it fell dead, then I hold back on this.
The questioner : Hmm. Because.
The Shaykh : The sanctity of the dead is like the sanctity of the living, and we do not know that there is a benefit in dissecting it up to now.
The questioner : Ah.
The Shaykh : The categories are three. The first category is that it falls before the soul is breathed into it, meaning before the completion of four months.
The questioner : No, later.
The Shaykh : There is no harm in dissecting it. And the second category is that it is after the soul has been breathed into it, meaning after the completion of four months, and it is alive. In this case, it is definitely not permissible to dissect it.
The questioner : No, it is.
The Shaykh : And the third category is that it is aborted after four months, but it is dead. In this case, I hold back on it; I do not say anything about it.
The questioner : Is this the last one, meaning?
The Shaykh : Because the sanctity of the dead is like the sanctity of the living, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And we are not certain of the benefit in dissecting this fetus that fell dead. Yes.
The Shaykh : I say that this is looked into. If the fetus has fallen while alive, then it is not permissible to dissect it, because dissecting it means killing it.
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : As for if the soul has not been breathed into it, meaning before four months, then there is no harm in dissecting it.
The questioner : Yes. May Allah keep you safe.
The Shaykh : As for if it is after the soul has been breathed into it, but it fell dead, then I hold back on this.
The questioner : Hmm. Because.
The Shaykh : The sanctity of the dead is like the sanctity of the living, and we do not know that there is a benefit in dissecting it up to now.
The questioner : Ah.
The Shaykh : The categories are three. The first category is that it falls before the soul is breathed into it, meaning before the completion of four months.
The questioner : No, later.
The Shaykh : There is no harm in dissecting it. And the second category is that it is after the soul has been breathed into it, meaning after the completion of four months, and it is alive. In this case, it is definitely not permissible to dissect it.
The questioner : No, it is.
The Shaykh : And the third category is that it is aborted after four months, but it is dead. In this case, I hold back on it; I do not say anything about it.
The questioner : Is this the last one, meaning?
The Shaykh : Because the sanctity of the dead is like the sanctity of the living, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
(peace and blessings be upon him) breaking the bone of a dead person is like breaking it while he is alive,
صلى الله عليه وسلم كسر عظم الميت ككسره حيا،
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 1972- ما حكم تشريح الجنين إذا سقط/سؤال على الهاتف 📞 /ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.