Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Brother,

Assalamu Aleikum.

I am a married person and have a cute daughter (ALHAMDULILLAH) of 16 months. She was born with a disease (by birth disease) named as “Myelomeningocele” (backbone related disease). So due to this disease her left leg is paralyzed and ALHAMDULILLHA it was very low effect of this disease otherwise this disease can affect the following areas:

Below waist complete paralyzed

Only both legs paralyzed

Only one leg paralyzed

Hydrocephalus (Water in head) Operation required

Bladder function problem (No feelings of urine & stole)

The doctor says, there are chances that this disease can affect the other births and this can be diagnosed (through clinical test) before third month of pregnancy.

So my question is “if we found this disease during pregnancy then can we go for abortion “?

JAZAKALLAH

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Abort if child ill

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 140:

Most surely they became losers, who, in their folly and ignorance killed their own children; and made unlawful what Allah had provided them as sustenance, falsely ascribing prohibitions to Allah. Surely, they went astray and were not at all rightly guided.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 151 (part):

You should not kill your children for fear of poverty; for We provide sustenance for you and will provide sustenance for them also.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 17 Surah Israa verse 31:

Do not kill your children for fear of want; for it is We Who provide for them, and for you as well. Indeed, their killing is a heinous crime!

The heinous act of intentionally killing one’s unborn child is akin to the crime of murder in the Sight of Allah Subhanah, and abortion is thus absolutely forbidden and impermissible in Islam.

The only one exception some jurists and scholars in Islam have reluctantly allowed abortion is when in extreme circumstances and situations, the medical experts come to a solemn conclusion that it would be humanly possible to save only one, either the mother or the un-born child, during a severe pregnancy complication. In such extreme cases where only one of the two, either the mother or the un-born child, can be saved, the jurists have concluded that the life of the one who is alive will take precedence over the one who is not yet born. Other than this one extreme exception, to the best of our knowledge, there is absolutely no room where abortion would be permitted in Islam.

Respected brother in Islam, the mere fear that one’s un-born child might have a genetic disease, or the mere fear that one’s un-born child might have a medical disorder would not be reason enough to justify its abortion in the Sight of Shariah.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan