A woman has a baby girl who is two months old. She placed her in the shade of a wall and went to do her household work, becoming preoccupied with it.
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The questioner : A questioner says: O honorable Shaykh, a woman has a baby girl who is two months old. She placed her in the shade of a wall and went to do her household work, becoming preoccupied with it. When she returned, she found that the sun had reached the child and the shade had moved away. The child then fell ill, was taken to the hospital, and passed away after a few days or weeks. Does this woman incur an expiation or anything else? Is she considered the cause of her daughter's death?
The Shaykh : Yes. First, we must know that we must be certain that she died because of her mother, and this is not something we can know, because she may have become ill without the sun reaching her. In that case, nothing is required of the mother. A similar case is when some people, or some women, put their daughter or son to sleep next to them, and when morning comes, they find him dead. They say, "I am afraid that I rolled over him while sleeping and did not notice." Is that required of her? Meaning, is anything required of her in this case? No, because he may have died without a cause, so nothing is required of her. So, regarding this baby girl who was placed under the wall, and then the sun reached her: is she certain that she died because of the sun? If it is assumed that she is certain of that, then we look: did she leave the girl while the sun was close to her, or not? If the sun was far away and it did not cross her mind that the sun would reach her to kill her, then nothing is upon her. But if it was close, she may have caused her death, and she must expiate the expiation for accidental killing of a soul, and her estate must pay blood money to those who inherit from this baby girl. However, the common practice is that people are lenient regarding the blood money, and the expiation remains. We must be certain that the baby girl died because of the sun reaching her; otherwise, nothing is upon her. Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes. First, we must know that we must be certain that she died because of her mother, and this is not something we can know, because she may have become ill without the sun reaching her. In that case, nothing is required of the mother. A similar case is when some people, or some women, put their daughter or son to sleep next to them, and when morning comes, they find him dead. They say, "I am afraid that I rolled over him while sleeping and did not notice." Is that required of her? Meaning, is anything required of her in this case? No, because he may have died without a cause, so nothing is required of her. So, regarding this baby girl who was placed under the wall, and then the sun reached her: is she certain that she died because of the sun? If it is assumed that she is certain of that, then we look: did she leave the girl while the sun was close to her, or not? If the sun was far away and it did not cross her mind that the sun would reach her to kill her, then nothing is upon her. But if it was close, she may have caused her death, and she must expiate the expiation for accidental killing of a soul, and her estate must pay blood money to those who inherit from this baby girl. However, the common practice is that people are lenient regarding the blood money, and the expiation remains. We must be certain that the baby girl died because of the sun reaching her; otherwise, nothing is upon her. Yes.