A woman was injured in her back in an accident while five months pregnant, and the doctors decided to perform back surgery on her, conditioning it on removing the fetus, but the mother refused.
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The questioner : A questioner says: Your Eminence,The Shaykh : A woman was injured in her back in an accident while five months pregnant, and the doctors decided to perform back surgery on her, conditioning it on removing the fetus, but the mother refused. They said: She is at risk of paralysis or death if the fetus remains and the operation is not performed. What should be done now? May you be rewarded.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible to remove the fetus if it would die upon removal, even if paralysis or death is feared for the mother. Did you hear the ruling? So, after the soul is breathed into the fetus, it is not permissible to remove it under any circumstances, no matter what. Why? Because if you remove it, you kill a soul intentionally. And this fetus is a believer. And Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:93]. And because if we remove it, are we certain that the mother will be safe? Answer. No, perhaps the operation will be the cause of her death. In that case, we would have committed a certain prohibition to avert a potential harm. Also, if we keep the fetus and the mother dies or becomes paralyzed, are we the ones who caused her death or paralysis?
The answer is: No, this is from Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and Allah the Exalted decrees what He wills. Also, we will not be certain that if it remains, she will die. Often, doctors decide that if the pregnancy remains in her womb, the woman will die, but she does not die. I have seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears: doctors decided for a pregnant woman that her fetus was deformed and that it had to be removed. A medical report! The fetus appeared more beautiful than its siblings, more beautiful than its siblings! This indicates that they may make mistakes, they may make mistakes, they estimate and it turns out to be an error. So in any case: suppose it is one hundred percent certain that if it remains in her womb, she will perish and the fetus will perish, we would say: her perishing is not in our hands, but it is from Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And Allah distinguished between what is in the hand of man and what is from Him, as He (Mighty and Majestic) said:[At-Tawbah 9:52]. So if we keep the fetus and the mother dies, it is not by our action, but by the action of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And [Ar-Ra'd 13:38]. This is something in which the rationalists placed their intellects before the Book and the Sunnah, saying: if it remains in its mother's womb and the mother dies, it dies. We say: let it be so. If the mother dies due to the death of this fetus, for example, it is from Allah (Mighty and Majestic). However, it is possible now, according to the advancement of medicine, that if the death of the fetus is determined at birth, they can quickly save the mother from death. This is a certainty. So the important thing is, my brother, follow the Book and the Sunnah, and do not worry about anyone, for this world is not for permanence; whoever does not die today will die tomorrow.
And a final question, because the time has ended.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible to remove the fetus if it would die upon removal, even if paralysis or death is feared for the mother. Did you hear the ruling? So, after the soul is breathed into the fetus, it is not permissible to remove it under any circumstances, no matter what. Why? Because if you remove it, you kill a soul intentionally. And this fetus is a believer. And Allah the Exalted said:
But whoever kills a believer intentionally - his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him and has cursed him and has prepared for him a great punishment.
وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِناً مُتَعَمِّداً فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِداً فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَاباً عَظِيماًThe answer is: No, this is from Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and Allah the Exalted decrees what He wills. Also, we will not be certain that if it remains, she will die. Often, doctors decide that if the pregnancy remains in her womb, the woman will die, but she does not die. I have seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears: doctors decided for a pregnant woman that her fetus was deformed and that it had to be removed. A medical report! The fetus appeared more beautiful than its siblings, more beautiful than its siblings! This indicates that they may make mistakes, they may make mistakes, they estimate and it turns out to be an error. So in any case: suppose it is one hundred percent certain that if it remains in her womb, she will perish and the fetus will perish, we would say: her perishing is not in our hands, but it is from Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And Allah distinguished between what is in the hand of man and what is from Him, as He (Mighty and Majestic) said:
Say, "Do you await for us except one of the two best things while we await for you that Allah will afflict you with punishment from Himself or at our hands?
قُلْ هَلْ َتَربَّصُونَ بِنَا إِلاَّ إِحْدَى الْحُسْنَيَيْنِ وَنَحْنُ نَتَرَبَّصُ بِكُمْ أَنْ يُصِيبَكُمْ اللَّهُ بِعَذَابٍ مِنْ عِنْدِهِ أَوْ بِأَيْدِينَاFor every term is a decree.
لِكُلِّ أَجَلٍ كِتَابٌAnd a final question, because the time has ended.