Aslam

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

We have already stated in

the answer to question no.

42321 the ruling on

abortion. Please refer to this information.

Secondly:

With regard to the rulings following an abortion, they vary

according to the time of the abortion, and fall into four categories, as

follows:

1 – If the pregnancy is aborted within the first two stages

(the nutfah (drop) stage which results from the mixing of the “two waters”

which is the first forty days after the embryo attaches itself in the womb,

and the ‘alaqah (clot) stage where it turns into solid blood during the

second forty days), which add up to a total of eighty days, then in this

case if it is aborted as a nutfah or ‘alaqah, there are no rulings to be

followed, and there is no scholarly dispute on this point. The woman should

continue to fast and pray as if she had not had an abortion, but she has to

do wudoo’ for each prayer if she has any bleeding, as in the case of a woman

suffering from istihaadah (non-menstrual vaginal bleeding).

2 – If the pregnancy is aborted in the third stage, the

mudghah (chewed piece of flesh) stage, when the embryo looks like a piece of

meat with the limbs and features beginning to appear, which lasts for forty

days from the eighty-first to the one hundred and twentieth day, then there

are two scenarios:

(i)This embryo does not have any

human features and the midwives or other attendants did not testify that

this was the beginning of a human being. In this case the ruling on abortion

of this mudghah is the same as the ruling on abortion in the first two

stages, and there are no rulings to be followed.

(ii)The embryo has complete human

features or some human features  such as a hand or foot, etc, or there are

features but they are indistinct, or the midwives or other attendants

testified that this was the beginning of a human being. In this case the

rulings on nifaas are to be followed, and this signals the end of ‘iddah

(waiting period following divorce or death of the husband, if applicable).

3 – If the pregnancy is aborted in the fourth stage, i.e.,

after the soul has been breathed into the foetus, which is after the

beginning of the fifth month or after one hundred and twenty days of

pregnancy have passed. Here there are two scenarios:

(i)If the foetus did not cry after

birth, then the rulings mentioned with regard to the second stage of the

mudghah are to be followed, but in addition the foetus should be washed,

shrouded and the funeral prayer offered for him; he should be given a name

and the ‘aqeeqah offered for him.

(ii)If the foetus cried after

birth, then the rulings concerning a full-term baby apply, as mentioned

above; in addition the child may take possession of wealth bequeathed or

inherited; he may inherit or be inherited from, etc.

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah,

21/434-438.