. Y""" (cont.)

According to this argument, the embryo which has not acquired any human features is also the initial state of creation, which if left to develop would have become a soul. That is the reason why the one who aborts it or causes its abortion is considered sinful even though the crime is not considered murder. According to Imam Malik, all that a woman aborts in the form of a clot of congealed blood or a morsel of flesh, or what is known to be off-spring, is a future soul and ghura is to be imposed upon violating the sanctity of that soul. Al-Ghazzaali, a follower of the Shafi'ee school, thinks that the first stage of creation occurs when the sperm from the man enters the ovary of the woman in preparation to develop into a living thing, and violation and spoiling of that process is a felony. According to the Hanbali school of thought, if the woman aborted something which does not have human features, then there is no sin. Nevertheless, if some trustworthy midwives witnessed that the aborted embryo consisted of the beginning aspects of initial human creation which if left in the womb would have developed into a human being, then the most correct opinion is that there is no so sin on that act because the basic ruling is innocence which is not to be doubted simply based on suspicion. If one imagines justifications for abortion before the soul is breathed irtto the embryo, one would see that there are three suppositions: First, abortion is carried out due to jeopardy or fear for the pregnartt woman's health if the pregnancy were to be continued or for any other shareeah legal causes, such as the case when the woman is raped. Abortion in these cases is permissible due to shareeah exigency. Second, abortion is carried out as a precautionary method of birth control, in fear of expenses and financial burden. In such case, abortion is not permitted because it comes under the prohibition of killing children in fear of poverty [either for the child or for the parents]. Allah says, "Kill not your children on a plea of wantWe provide sustenance for you and for them" (al-Anaam 151). And, "Kill not your children for fear of wantWe shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily the killing of them is a great sin" (al-Israa 3 1). Third, abortion is carried out for a reason other than those two reasons, such as the desire of the mother to delay giving birth for as long as Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi possible, as a measure to preserve her youth, or her physical appearance, or perhaps she is elongating the period of living with her husband without giving birth on the suspicion that she might be divorced. Abortion for such reasons is not permissible. It can be argued that the congealed blood in the womb before the completion of one hundred and twenty days of pregnancy is merely matter with no soul in it, so therefore it should be allowed to abort it. However, that "physical matter" is the beginning of initial creation, and in reality it is a believing soul, in consideration of what it will be in the future. The period of one hundred and twenty days is only a measure for completion of creation and breathing of the soul. Many scholars do not think that there is a big difference between a hundred and ten day embryo and another which is a hundred and twenty days. Pregnancy is a gift from Almighty Allah to His creatures. Anybody who transgresses against that creation would be like one who rejects that gift from Almighty Allah. However, in reality, he or she is opposing the will and wisdom of Almighty Allah. In short, the article concludes, deliberate abortion is impermissible even before the completion of one hundred and twenty days period of pregnancy. Anybody who does it deliberately is considered a sinner, except when one has a Shariah legal exigency. In a separate article, the same journal discussed the question of aborting a pregnancy that was the result of rape. 1 They concluded that such rapes cause a great deal of psychological problems for the woman and also bring about a great deal of complications for her future life. Hence, they argue that a woman in that position should determine if she is pregnant as soon as possible. Then, if abortion is decided upon, it should be done within the first 120 days.2 If, for some reason, it is left till after that time, it may still be resorted to as a case of necessity, due to the harm that it may bring to the woman. However, they also stated that if the raped woman could accept that pregnancy and there was no harm on her, either psychologically or physiologically, she would not abort the fetus in that case and, Allah willing, Allah would reward her greatly for bringing up that child and looking after it.