. Y""" (cont.)

Perhaps that child may bring her great good in the future. Allah knows best. Funeral Prayer for the Aborted Fetus According to the majority of the scholars, if a fetus is aborted or if there is a miscarriage after the rooh is breathed into it, the funeral prayer is to 1 "Rule on Deliberate Abortion Due to Rape," Contemporary Jurisprudence Research Journal (Seventeenth Edition, Fifth Year, April-May-June 1993), pp. 77-82. Presumably, the same conclusion can be made concerning pregnancy due to incest. 2 Preferably as soon as possible based on the conclusions of the discussion of this hadith. Hadith #4: Creation in the Mother's Womb be performed for it. Of course, the majority of the scholars also say that the rooh is breathed into the fetus after 120 days. Hence, if a fetus is aborted after 120 days, any portion of that fetus that comes out of the woman is to be buried properly and is to have a funeral prayer said for it. Ibn Uthaimeen says that if the fetus comes before 120 days, it is simply a piece of flesh and it is to be buried in any place, without washing it, shrouding it or performing the prayer for it. It is only a human after 120 days.1 Presumably, though, if a scholar is of the opinion that the rooh is breathed into the fetus after 40 or 45 days, then the funeral prayer should be said for any fetus that is aborted after that time. There are some scholars that state that the funeral prayer is only to be held if the child is born alive and cries, even if just once. This is sometimes based on the hadith, Ӆ ӆ Ӈӈ֟al\ Ӊ-\ \ӊm "If the child cries [even just once], the prayer should be held for him." This hadith is recorded by al-Nasaai and others. However, it seems that the scholars of hadith agree that this is a weak hadith.2 In Sahih al-Bukhari, it states that, according to al-Zuhri, one only prays for a deceased child or miscarriage if the child actually cried. Given the fact that it is difficult to determine when the rooh is breathed into the fetus, the strongest opinion, Allah knows best, seems to be that any aborted fetus or miscarriage may have the funeral prayer performed for it. That is, if any solid massas opposed to simply some bloodcomes from the mother, the funeral prayer may be performed.3 This opinion is firmly based on the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him), 1 lbn Uthaimeen, al-Sharh al-Mumti, vol. 5, pp. 373-374. He also states that after 120 days, according to the scholars, the fetus should be given a name at that time. Elsewhere, ibn Uthaimeen also states that the aqeeqah should be performed for the fetus so that he will intercede for his parents, as such a fetus will be resurrected on the Day of Judgment. See ibn Uthaimeen, Sharh Riyaadh al-Saaliheen, vol. 5, p. 340. Concerning these last two matters, there are no specific hadith in the case of an aborted fetus. Allah knows best. There is also another opinion that says that the rooh is breathed into the fetus after four months and ten days. Hence, the fetus will only have the prayer for it if it was a pregnancy of four months and ten days. This view that the rooh comes after four months and ten days is also the reason given by some scholars as to why the waiting period for the widow is four months and ten days. See ibn Rajah, Jaami, vol. 1, f· 162. lbn Hajr states that the chain is sahih but the strongest opinion is that it is not a statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him) but a statement of the Companion Jaabir. See ibn Hajr, Fath, vol. 13, p. 325. 3 This view also avoids the problem of trying to determine if in fact 120 days have passed since conception. Some scholars state that it is not necessary to perform the funeral prayer for children but the prayer may be performed if the people wish to do so. There are conflicting reports regarding whether or not the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed the funeral prayer for his deceased son Ibrahim. Al-Albaani concludes that the strongest narrations state that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not perform the funeral prayer for his son Ibrahim. Allah knows best. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi "The aborted fetus [or miscarriage] is to have the prayer performed for it and one is to prayer for forgiveness and mercy for its parents."1 In this hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, al-siqt, with an alif lam in front of it. This implies generality. That is, it applies to every aborted fetus. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not restrict it to any specific age of the fetus nor did he require that it cry first.