. Y""" (cont.)

(He did not do so in the hadith that ibn Uthaimeen referred to.) Obviously, there is no such thing as a person doing the deeds of the People of Hell in the sight of the people while in his heart he is some kind of pious person who is from the People of Paradise. It is important to understand this hadith correctly as the ramifications of ibn Uthaimeen's misunderstanding are very different. "And, certainly, one of you will definitely perform the acts of the people of Hell until there is not between him and Hell except an arm's length and then what has been recorded will overtake him and he shall perform the deeds of the people of Paradise and enter it." This is the opposite of the first case described above. Ibo Daqeeq al­ Eid points out that it is part of Allah's great mercy that the first case mentioned above is very rare while the second case mentioned here is not uncommon. 2 That is, by Allah's mercy, He guides those who turn to Him. If someone does good deeds, Allah continues to guide him, help him and overlook his faults. 1 See ibn Uthaimeen, Sharh Riyaadh al-Saaliheen, vol. 5, pp. 342-343. 2 Muhammad ibn Daqeeq al-Eid, Sharh al-Arbaeen Hadeethan al-Nawawiya (no publication information given), p. 22. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi Only if the person has a complete change in heart does Allah take him all the way to disbelief or the Hell-fire. On the other hand, there are many cases where Allah saves a person from the Hell-fire by guiding him to Islam. He was doing the acts of the people of the Hell-fire and, by Allah's mercy, he is now doing the acts of the people of Paradise. In fact, all of the Companions who embraced Islam some time after the message reached them were of this nature. This portion of the hadith should also give hope to those who are currently committing sins, realizing that they are wrong but somehow still not being able to pull themselves from them. If such a person continues to strive and correct himself, Allah willing, he will finally some day change his ways. When he does, he will start performing the deeds of the People of Paradise and die in that state. This is, once again, a great bounty, blessing and opportunity from Allah. Those who are committing sins now should realize this fact and change their ways before death comes to them while they are still performing the deeds of the People of Hell. Related Fiqh Issues The Question of Abortion This hadith describes the creation of the human being in the womb of the mother. It makes it clear that the human is in existence, with a soul, not long after conception but long before the actual birth takes place. This has important ramifications for the question of abortion and its legality in Islam. As was noted above, however, the commonly accepted opinion is that the soul is breathed into the fetus after 120 days. This has greatly influenced the jurists' views on abortion. There seems to be complete agreement that abortion after 120 days is absolutely forbidden unless there is a dire necessity. There is some difference of opinion concerning abortion performed before the ending of the first 120 days of pregnancy. In the Contemporary Jurisprudence Research Journal, there was an article entitled, "Rule on Abortion which Takes Place Before Completion of One Hundred and Twenty Days of Pregnancy". Unless otherwise noted, the following information is from that article: 1 Concerning abortion before the soul is breathed into the embryo, in other words, before the completion of one hundred and twenty days of 1 "Rule on Abortion which Takes Place Before Completion of One Hundred and Twenty Days of Pregnancy," Contemporary Jurisprudence Research Journal (Fifteenth Edition, Fourth Year, Oct.-Nov.-Dec. 1 992), pp. 57-59. The relevant references may be found in that article. An excellent discussion of abortion may be found in Umm Kulthum al-Khateeb, Qadhiyah Tahdeed al-Nast Ji al-Shariah al-Islamiya (Jeddah: al-Dar al-Saudiya, 1 984), pp. 1 49-1 80. She concludes that at no stage of the pregnancy, even before 40 days, is abortion allowed whatsoeverexcept in the case of necessity. Hadith #4: Creation in the Mother's Womb pregnancy, the Hanafi school says that no ghura or blood money for killing a baby would be imposed, unless human features are apparent on the embryo. But if no features are apparent, then there is no sin. Another opinion in the same Hanafi school states that the perpetrator of abortion (whether the father or the mother or any other person) is considered sinful. Those who state such an opinion derive evidence from the analogy that if a muhrim (one who entered the consecrated state of pilgrimage or Umrah) broke an egg of a wild game, then expiation is imposed on him for committing that act, because that egg is the initial state of the wild game.