The sin of abortion.
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:
I have had an obortion, I have no justifible reason to
give, I am full of remorse and guilt, and I am in dispair, I need answers on
what I need to do now. how are the 120 days calculated? when can I have a bath
, what is the time limit is it 40 days? how much money do i need to give to
free the soul? who do I give this to? how long do i need to fast for? in my
ignornce i have no remains of the pregnancy the clinic did not give it to me?
what do I do? please guide me, I fell astray I am ashamed and humiliated by
this act.
(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:
The sin of abortion
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 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!
Respected sister in Islam,
whatever deeds one might have done in one’s past, if one turns to Allah
Subhanah in sincere ‘Taubah’ and seeks forgiveness, Allah Subhanah has promised in the Holy Quran
that He will forgive all the sins of such a repentant believer, even if one has
committed the gravest sin of all: ‘Shirk’!
Not only that, your Lord is so Merciful and Generous, that He not only
will forgive the sins of such sincerely repentant believers, He will change
their evil deeds done into good deeds!
The conditions or ways to seek
sincere Taubah or Repentance from the Merciful Lord are:
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumur verses 53-54:
(O Prophet) say: “O My
servants who have wronged their own souls….Do
not despair of Allah’s Mercy!
Surely, Allah forgives all
sins. He indeed is the All
Forgiving, All Merciful. Return to your Lord and submit to Him before
the scourge overtakes you; for then you
may get no help from anywhere.”
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136:
Allah likes such good
people very much, who, if ever they
commit a base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their
shortcomings. For who, but Allah,
can forgive sins? (And Allah
loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will be rewarded with forgiveness from
Allah, and with Gardens beneath which
canals flow, and they will reside
therein forever! How excellent is the
reward of those who do good deeds!
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 25 Surah Furqaan verses 63-71:
The (true) servants of
the Merciful are those who walk humbly on the earth. When the ignorant people behave insolently
towards them, they say, “Peace to
you”; (And those) who pass their nights
in prostrating themselves and standing before their Lord and pray, “O our
Lord, save us from the torment of
Hell, for its torment is killing! It is an evil abode, and an evil resting place”. (And those) who, when they spend are neither extravagant, nor miserly,
but keep the golden mean between the two extremes. (And those) who do not invoke any god but
Allah Alone, nor kill a soul
unjustly, which Allah has
forbidden, nor commit adultery… He who
does this shall be punished for his sin,
and his torment shall be doubled on the Day of Resurrection, and he shall abide in a state of ignominy; EXCEPT THE ONE WHO MAY HAVE REPENTED (AFTER
THOSE SINS), AND HAVE BELIEVED AND DONE
RIGHTEOUS DEEDS. For then, Allah will change his evil deeds into good
deeds, and He is very Forgiving and
Merciful. In fact, one who repents and does righteous deeds, returns to Allah as one rightly should!
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 54:
When those come to you
who believe in Our Signs, say:
"Peace be on you! Your Lord had
inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy.
Verily if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented and amended (his
conduct), Lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith
2357 Narrated by Abdullah ibn
Mas'ud
Allah's Messenger
(saws) said, "He who repents of a sin is like him who has committed no
sin."
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith
2338 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar
Allah's Messenger
(saws) said, "Allah accepts a servant's repentance (taubah) till he gives
up his spirit in death."
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith
2339 Narrated by Abu Sa'id
Allah's Messenger
(saws) said that the Shaytaan said, "By Thy Might, my Lord, I shall
continue to lead Thy servants astray as long as their spirits are in their
bodies!" The Lord, Who is Great and
Glorious, replied, "By My Might, Glory and Exalted Station, I shall continue
to pardon them as long as they ask My forgiveness!"
Sahih Muslim Hadith
6499 Narrated by Abu Dharr Ghaffari
Allah's Messenger
(saws) said that Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, stated: “He who comes with
goodness, there are in store for him ten like those and even more than those;
and he who comes with vice, it is only for that that which he is called to
account. I even forgive him as I like, and he who draws close to Me by the span
of a palm, I draw close to him by the cubit; and he who draws close to Me by
the cubit, I draw close to him by the space (covered) by two hands; and he who
walks towards Me, I rush towards him; and he who meets Me in the state that his
sins fill the earth, but not associating anything with Me, I would meet Him
with the same (vastness) of pardon (on My behalf)."
Respected sister in Islam, as
grave and as heinous the sin of aborting an unborn child may be, do not despair
of the Mercy of your Lord Most Merciful.
If you are indeed repentant at the commission of your sin and seek
sincere ‘taubah’ from your Lord for your transgression, it is expected that you
will find your Lord Forgiving and Merciful.
Your Questions: ….how are the 120 days calculated? when
can I have a bath , what is the time limit is it 40 days?....
Respected sister, there is a
vast difference in the form of atonement in Shariah Law if the fetus is aborted
before the fourth month of pregnancy or after the fourth month. If you could kindly provide us the
information whether the abortion took place before or after the fourth month of
pregnancy, we would be better able to guide you regarding the form of
repentance in light of the Guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah Insha Allah.
Whatever written of Truth and
benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error
is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He
is the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
