A woman placed her child, who suffers from paralysis, on his stomach before sleep, and in the morning she found him dead. Is there anything required of her?

The questioner:
One of his wives has a son who is ill with paralysis, and he is four years old, and he is given his specific treatment continuously. His mother got up one morning and found that he had died. She had been accustomed, after nursing him before sleep, to place him on his stomach. She is now doubtful and says that perhaps that was the cause of his death. So what do you advise her to do now? May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh:
If, as stated in the question, she placed him on his stomach and left him, and he died as a result of that, then the expiation is upon her, which is freeing a slave. If she does not find one, then she fasts two consecutive months; because she was the cause of his death by leaving him on his face, which caused him to choke.

The questioner:
She says she is just very upset.

The Shaykh:
Doubt does not establish anything. But if it is more likely in her opinion, or if she is certain, that she left him on his face and he died as a result of that, then she has been negligent, and consequently the expiation is obligatory upon her, as we mentioned, because this is considered akin to killing him, and it is an error. Allah the Exalted has made the expiation obligatory upon the one who kills a believer by mistake. Yes.

The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good.