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Fatwa CenterHer baby son fell from the balcony when he was playing near her
Question
I want to bring to your notice kindness sheik that I went with my family for vacation to India in the month of march. There the second day of arrival of mine Monday we are staying in my mother-in-laws house which is in second floor of the building. This flat is having balcony facing towards the road. On that day Monday I went outside to purchase and book the tickets. At the moment, my wife sitting on the entrance of the balcony door facing towards room side of the house(inside) but the balcony is backside of her facing towards the road. My son muhammed musab( allah raham )aged around 21 months , he is playing in the balcony to her (his mother) left hand side beeping thro the window of bedroom towards the house inside. A second before my wife saw him, he is beeping thro the window not on the balcony side. After a matter of seconds,(still my wife sitting on the same place the entrance of the door she is facing towards the house not towards the balcony)she look for his son. All of a sudden, she couldn't find him. Within this matter of seconds my son from the place(where he is beeping thro the window) he left from there to balcony and he fall down towards the road. By this time allah has closed her mothers eyes and some lady from the front building seeing him falling she couldn't able to make sound. Alhamdulillah, he doesn't had any fracture, bleeding, injury, scar but we admitted him in the hospital with unconsciousness on Monday. Four days he was in the hospital. The second day he recognized us and cried. The treatment failed and he passed and left us with sorrow ness. Alhamdulillah. Inna lillahi wainna ilaihi raajihoon. Please pray for him and for us. We have up to now too much upset and very difficult to come out from the painful sorrow and my wife always fell guilty of her self. My question is whether fidya is wagib on my wife or on us? And what we should do to come our from this sorrow and deep shock? Please pray for us sheik? Jazakkallah khair.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, please accept our condolences on the occasion of the death of your son, and we ask Allaah to make him lead you into Paradise and be an intercessor for you on the Day of Judgment.
Indeed, this life is a test for us and if a calamity befalls a person, he should be patient, be pleased with Allaah’s Predestination and submit himself to the Will of Allaah. Therefore, we advise you to be patient as the outcome of patience is good, especially being patient over the death of a son, and we clarified the religious texts about this in Fataawa 83577 and 85445.
Therefore, you should ponder over the texts in the above-mentioned Fataawa as you may find a comfort in them.
However, your son died before reaching the age of puberty, so he is among the people of Paradise; as the children of Muslims will be in Paradise.
As regards the circumstances of this accident, you are more aware about it. However, what we would say is that if there is any negligence on the part of the mother in safeguarding her son, then the Diyah and expiation must be paid, and it is the parental relatives of the mother who are obliged to pay the Diyah. It is the heirs of the son who are entitled to the Diyah while the killer has no right in it. Since, the husband is the only heir in our case, then he may renounce it. Moreover, the mother is obliged to expiate for this by fasting for two consecutive lunar months.
Nonetheless, if she is not negligent, then she is not required to do anything. It appears from the question that she is not negligent; if this is the case, then she is not required to pay a Diyah or to expiate.
Allaah Knows best.
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