Ruling on causing the death of a fetus unintentionally
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
A message was received by the program from one of the female listeners from Makkah al-Mukarramah, saying: (N. D.) Al-Sabaei from Makkah, our sister says: I was four months pregnant, and I have older children, but they did not know that I was pregnant. So my eldest son, intending to joke, put his hand on my belly and said to me: "I am afraid there is a child in this belly of yours." Knowing that he is on the verge of marriage and does not want his mother to be pregnant during his marriage, based on the fact that she cannot have intercourse during his marriage. And when he put his hand on his mother's belly, it pained her, and he was surprised to find that his mother was hospitalized, and it turned out that the fetus had died in his mother's belly. And she asks about the ruling?
Answer: If his placing his hand on his mother's belly affected the fetus; because he struck it with a blow that affected it; because it was not just placing but he struck it with a blow that affected it until it fell due to that, then upon him for that is the blood money (diyah), which is a slave or a female slave, and it is one-tenth of his mother's blood money, meaning: five camels. If the woman's blood money is fifty camels, half of the man's blood money which is one hundred camels, and looking at the value, which is now one hundred thousand, then upon him is one-tenth of the mother's value; five thousand to the heirs if they do not forgive, to his mother and father if they do not forgive the value. And upon him is an expiation for the falling of the fetus if the soul has been breathed into the fetus, because the soul has been breathed into it, so upon him is an expiation for that as well by freeing a believing slave, and if he is unable, he fasts two consecutive months; because it is killing. This is called quasi-intentional killing.
As for if it was after the formation, but it is less than four months, then there is no expiation upon him, but rather upon him is a slave or a female slave. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. She says: It was in the fourth month?
The Shaykh: In the fourth month, after the soul has been breathed into it, there is no expiation upon him, but rather upon him is a slave or a female slave if his parents did not forgive, if his parents did not forgive. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
Answer: If his placing his hand on his mother's belly affected the fetus; because he struck it with a blow that affected it; because it was not just placing but he struck it with a blow that affected it until it fell due to that, then upon him for that is the blood money (diyah), which is a slave or a female slave, and it is one-tenth of his mother's blood money, meaning: five camels. If the woman's blood money is fifty camels, half of the man's blood money which is one hundred camels, and looking at the value, which is now one hundred thousand, then upon him is one-tenth of the mother's value; five thousand to the heirs if they do not forgive, to his mother and father if they do not forgive the value. And upon him is an expiation for the falling of the fetus if the soul has been breathed into the fetus, because the soul has been breathed into it, so upon him is an expiation for that as well by freeing a believing slave, and if he is unable, he fasts two consecutive months; because it is killing. This is called quasi-intentional killing.
As for if it was after the formation, but it is less than four months, then there is no expiation upon him, but rather upon him is a slave or a female slave. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. She says: It was in the fourth month?
The Shaykh: In the fourth month, after the soul has been breathed into it, there is no expiation upon him, but rather upon him is a slave or a female slave if his parents did not forgive, if his parents did not forgive. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.