Is it forbidden to abort a fetus that has been determined by X-ray to be physically deformed, such as being missing a limb like a leg, knowing that it can live?
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The questioner : This is a message received from a student in the Faculty of Medicine in Egypt. He says: O honorable Shaykh, is it forbidden to abort a fetus that has been determined by X-ray to be physically deformed? An example would be if it is missing a limb like a leg or something else, knowing that it can live and that this will not be a cause for its death immediately after birth. This questioner says: But there are cases where the fetus is missing a vital organ and consequently dies after birth, such as being missing the brain, the heart, the lungs, or other organs without which life is impossible. Is aborting such a fetus in such a case considered forbidden so that the mother is not burdened with completing the pregnancy, knowing that it will not live? Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. I say before answering this question: The question about this issue, namely the deformation of what is in the wombs of mothers, has become frequent. This undoubtedly has a cause. The first cause is the sins committed by people in general, or by this woman or her husband specifically, because every calamity that occurs is due to sins. Allah the Exalted said:[Ash-Shuraa 42:30] A person may be struck by a calamity while being upright so that Allah may raise his ranks and increase his reward by it, but the principle is that the cause of calamities is sins.
The second cause is that it has been said that the use of contraceptive pills is one of the causes of fetal deformity. The use of contraceptive pills in our time is common because women want luxury; they want not to be burdened by pregnancy; they want not to be burdened by childcare; they want to remain at ease. I do not know if they have forgotten the memories of their mothers who suffered the hardship of pregnancy and the hardship of childbirth, which women of this time do not suffer due to the existence of pain relievers and the like. If it is true what I have been told, that the pills used to prevent pregnancy are a cause of deformity, then this necessitates that women refrain from eating these pills, even if pregnancy follows one after another by their refraining from eating them. For the abundance of childbirth is among the blessings of Allah the Exalted upon man and upon the community, and it is among the matters that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) loves. The important thing is that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to marry the loving and the fertile. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) combined the cause with the effect.
In any case, we advise our Muslim sisters to refrain from using contraceptive pills, and we say that the abundance of pregnancy is among the blessings of Allah the Exalted upon the spouses and upon the community as a whole. Then, if a person relies upon his Lord and asks Him for help, Allah will help him in the burdens of pregnancy and the burdens of childcare, and Allah will make the matter easy for him. As for a woman relying on laziness and luxury, and not wanting to be burdened by pregnancy, childbirth, or childcare, we consider this a short-sightedness.
In any case, the question about deformities in fetuses has become frequent, and the cause of these deformities, in our view, is the two causes we mentioned. If it is established that the fetus is deformed, if it has reached four months and the soul has been breathed into it, then it is absolutely not permissible to attempt to abort it, because this leads to the killing of a forbidden soul, and killing a forbidden soul is among the greatest of major sins. Even if it leads to the death of its mother, it is not permissible to abort it in this case, because it is not permissible to destroy a soul to save another soul. I give an example to the listener and the hearer: A man is in dire necessity for food and finds nothing but a protected human being. Is it permissible to slaughter this protected human being in order to remove his necessity? Everyone says it is not permissible. So likewise, this fetus, if the soul has been breathed into it, it is not permissible to abort it so that it dies, even if that leads to the death of its mother by its remaining in her womb. Take this to mean: if the soul is breathed into the fetus, it is not permissible to abort it in a way that causes its death, no matter what the situation is, whether it is deformed by the absence of a hand, the absence of a leg, the absence of an organ, the absence of an eye, the absence of a nose, or in any state whatsoever. It remains until Allah the Exalted brings it out, and then Allah does with it what He wills.
As for if it is before the soul is breathed into it, then it is looked at. If the deformity is slight and tolerable, such as the loss of a finger from the fingers, or an extra finger, or something similar to that which can be removed, or which is not considered a terrifying thing, then it is not aborted as long as it has been a lump of flesh and created. But if the deformity is severe, such as the loss of a complete organ, like the loss of a hand or a leg or a skull, or something similar to that, then there is no harm in aborting it at that time, because it was not a soul up to that point, as indicated by the hadith of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) narrated to us, and he is the truthful and the veracious, and he said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2137Sahih (Darussalam) These are four months Sahih Muslim 2643a This noble hadith clarified that the soul is breathed into the fetus when it completes four months. Accordingly, whenever it completes four months, it is not permissible to abort it in a way that causes its death, in any state it may be in. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. I say before answering this question: The question about this issue, namely the deformation of what is in the wombs of mothers, has become frequent. This undoubtedly has a cause. The first cause is the sins committed by people in general, or by this woman or her husband specifically, because every calamity that occurs is due to sins. Allah the Exalted said:
And whatever strikes you of disaster - it is for what your hands have earned; but He pardons much.
وما أصابكم من مصيبة فبما كسبت أيديكم ويعفو عن كثيرThe second cause is that it has been said that the use of contraceptive pills is one of the causes of fetal deformity. The use of contraceptive pills in our time is common because women want luxury; they want not to be burdened by pregnancy; they want not to be burdened by childcare; they want to remain at ease. I do not know if they have forgotten the memories of their mothers who suffered the hardship of pregnancy and the hardship of childbirth, which women of this time do not suffer due to the existence of pain relievers and the like. If it is true what I have been told, that the pills used to prevent pregnancy are a cause of deformity, then this necessitates that women refrain from eating these pills, even if pregnancy follows one after another by their refraining from eating them. For the abundance of childbirth is among the blessings of Allah the Exalted upon man and upon the community, and it is among the matters that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) loves. The important thing is that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to marry the loving and the fertile. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) combined the cause with the effect.
In any case, we advise our Muslim sisters to refrain from using contraceptive pills, and we say that the abundance of pregnancy is among the blessings of Allah the Exalted upon the spouses and upon the community as a whole. Then, if a person relies upon his Lord and asks Him for help, Allah will help him in the burdens of pregnancy and the burdens of childcare, and Allah will make the matter easy for him. As for a woman relying on laziness and luxury, and not wanting to be burdened by pregnancy, childbirth, or childcare, we consider this a short-sightedness.
In any case, the question about deformities in fetuses has become frequent, and the cause of these deformities, in our view, is the two causes we mentioned. If it is established that the fetus is deformed, if it has reached four months and the soul has been breathed into it, then it is absolutely not permissible to attempt to abort it, because this leads to the killing of a forbidden soul, and killing a forbidden soul is among the greatest of major sins. Even if it leads to the death of its mother, it is not permissible to abort it in this case, because it is not permissible to destroy a soul to save another soul. I give an example to the listener and the hearer: A man is in dire necessity for food and finds nothing but a protected human being. Is it permissible to slaughter this protected human being in order to remove his necessity? Everyone says it is not permissible. So likewise, this fetus, if the soul has been breathed into it, it is not permissible to abort it so that it dies, even if that leads to the death of its mother by its remaining in her womb. Take this to mean: if the soul is breathed into the fetus, it is not permissible to abort it in a way that causes its death, no matter what the situation is, whether it is deformed by the absence of a hand, the absence of a leg, the absence of an organ, the absence of an eye, the absence of a nose, or in any state whatsoever. It remains until Allah the Exalted brings it out, and then Allah does with it what He wills.
As for if it is before the soul is breathed into it, then it is looked at. If the deformity is slight and tolerable, such as the loss of a finger from the fingers, or an extra finger, or something similar to that which can be removed, or which is not considered a terrifying thing, then it is not aborted as long as it has been a lump of flesh and created. But if the deformity is severe, such as the loss of a complete organ, like the loss of a hand or a leg or a skull, or something similar to that, then there is no harm in aborting it at that time, because it was not a soul up to that point, as indicated by the hadith of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) narrated to us, and he is the truthful and the veracious, and he said:
Indeed the creation of one of you is gathered inside his mother in forty days. Then, for a similar period, he is a clot. Then, for a similar period, he is a piece of flesh.
إن أحدكم يُجمع خلقه في بطن أمه أربعين يوما نطفة ثم يكون علقة مثل ذلك ثم يكون مضغة مثل ذلكThen it becomes a lump of flesh and forty days later Allah sends His angel to it with instructions concerning four things, so the angel writes down his livelihood, his death, his deeds, his fortune and misfortune. By Him, besides Whom there is no god, that one amongst you acts like the people deserving Paradise until between him and Paradise there remains but the distance of a cubit, when suddenly the writing of destiny overcomes him and he begins to act like the denizens of Hell and thus enters Hell, and another one acts in the way of the denizens of Hell, until there remains between him and Hell a distance of a cubit that the writing of destiny overcomes him and then he begins to act like the people of Paradise and enters Paradise.
ثم يُرسل إليه الملك فينفخ فيه الروح ويؤمر بأربع كلمات بكتب رزقه وأجله وعمله وشقي أو سعيد فوالله الذي لا إله غيره إن أحدكم ليعمل بعمل أهل الجنة حتى ما يكون بينه وبينها إلا ذراع فيسبق عليه الكتاب فيعمل بعمل أهل النار فيدخلها وإن أحدكم ليعمل بعمل أهل النار حتى ما يكون بينه وبينها إلا ذراع فيسبق عليه الكتاب فيعمل بعمل أهل الجنة فيدخلهاThe questioner : May Allah bless you.