The Ruling on the Funeral Prayer for a Fetus, the 'Aqiqah, and Delaying It

The questioner : If a fetus falls from its mother's womb after completing four months, is the funeral prayer for it obligatory or recommended? I read in the book of funerals that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not pray over his son Ibrahim when he died, and he was more than eighteen months old. Is this correct or not? Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good. And is the 'aqiqah sacrificed for it, even if the period is prolonged after its death due to ignorance? And what is the evidence for that?

The Shaykh : If four months have been completed, the soul is breathed into it, and it becomes a human being, as Allah the Exalted said: And if it falls, it is washed, prayed over, shrouded, and the funeral prayer is performed for it. It is buried with the Muslims, and it will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection. The 'aqiqah is sacrificed for it because it will be resurrected and named. As for your saying "even if the period is prolonged" regarding the 'aqiqah: if he was poor when the child was born, then he owes nothing; it is dropped from him like other obligatory duties that are dropped due to inability. But if he was wealthy and was negligent, I doubt its sufficiency because he was negligent in delaying it from its known time. But if he did perform the 'aqiqah, then there is no sin on him, if Allah wills.

The questioner : My daughter?

The Shaykh : There is no evidence that he did not pray. And the prayer did not speak, and the speech did not return.

The questioner : One may stand in prayer at the end of the night, but whoever leaves the night prayer, it is not permissible to seek knowledge at the beginning of the night, so that he falls under the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that one should not stand [in prayer] like the adhan.

The Shaykh : Which is later, the knowledge or the tahajjud? So he left something less preferred for something more preferred. But it is possible to do both, meaning he does not exhaust himself at the beginning of the night, and he does not exhaust himself at the end of the night either. He does a little of this and a little of that, and the matter is easy. For example, if he advances by half an hour before Fajr, he is able to pray what Allah wills with the witr.