Ruling on abortion if mother suffers health problems
8-12-2014 | IslamWeb
Question:
Assalam o alaikum wa rahmatullah e wa barakatoho, Respected Sheikh and our brother in Islam, my question refers to "abortion" : I m a mother (27 years old) blessed alhamdolillah with 5 children ( youngest 10 months and oldest 7) has been married for eight years now. With mercy of Allah swt I m grown up in a religious family and married to a religious person. I have read all the questions related to abortion in your esteemed website and understand the depth of the issue alhamdolillah, however; I couldn't really find the answer that could satisfy my situation. I m diagnosed with osteomalacia, bone density( high risk of fractures), suffer from obstetric cholestasis( liver problem)during my pregnancies, severe dizziness and fatigue that It already started on my second week of pregnancy and many other complications that are common. I live all alone away from my families in a small town where it's very hard to visit doctors and my husband travels a lot. The only fear that I have in my mind is that how will I manage to look after my kids if my health situation worsen. Meanwhile, is it safe islamically to abort the child for the intention and issues mentioned above before the 40th day. Please get me an answer in your soonest possible and advise me accordingly. Wasalam o alaikum,
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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
We implore Allaah to protect you from all illnesses and bless you with full and complete recovery from all ailments.
The preponderant scholarly opinion in our view is that abortion is prohibited even if the fetus is still in the form of Nutfa (waterdrop). It is impermissible to opt for abortion for even the slightest reason.
However, if reliable doctors advised that pregnancy may incur harm, then some scholars held that abortion is lawful during the first 40 days of the fetus' life for a valid reason. Some of them even held that abortion is permissible any time before the soul is breathed into the fetus (i.e. during the first 120 days of the fetus' life) in order to avoid harm.
Allaah Knows best.