Abortion in Islam: Shariah Rulings on this Controversial Topic (original) (raw)
Abortion Discourse in the Perspective of Islamic Jurisprudence Scholars
Proceedings of the 4th International Colloquium on Interdisciplinary Islamic Studies in conjunction with the 1st International Conference on Education, Science, Technology, Indonesian and Islamic Studies, ICIIS and ICESTIIS 2021, 20-21 October 2021, Jambi, Indonesia, 2022
Islam upholds related to maintaining the soul or self, this is following the purpose of Islamic law namely hifdzu an-Nafs or self-care. Regarding abortion, some scholars allow and others prohibit abortion. The discourse is abortion aborts the child before the perfect creation or before the perfect period of pregnancy. The study aims to analyze how abortion discourse is in the view of fiqh scholars. This study uses qualitative research with a normative approach. Research data sources use fiqh books, journal articles, and books. The data is collected by documentation techniques. Furthermore, the data is analyzed using integrative descriptive analysis. The results concluded that all scholars agreed that abortions performed at the gestational age of more than four months were haram. While abortions are performed when the gestational age is more than forty days and less than forty days the scholars differ as will be shown in this article.
Abortion in Islamic countries--legal and religious aspects
Medicine and law, 2004
The debate over abortion is still controversial as ever. As one of every four people in the world is of the Muslim religion, it is important to learn more about the Islamic point of view toward this dilemma in medical ethics. The first part of this paper gives a general view of the sources of Islamic law and discusses modern developments in Islamic medical ethics regarding abortion. The second part focuses on the legal aspects of abortion in different Islamic states, dealing with the need to supply solutions to women who for different reasons wish to abort and at the same time enact laws that would not contradict Islamic principles. A study of three Muslim states (Egypt, Kuwait and Tunisia) demonstrates three different approaches toward legalizing abortion--a conservative approach, a more lenient approach, and a liberal one--all within Islamic oriented states. This leads to a conclusion that a more liberal attitude regarding abortion is possible in Islamic states, as long as traditi...
Abortion: An Infringement of the Foetus’ Right to Life in Islamic Law
IIUM Law Journal, 2015
Under Islamic law, the life of a human being is sacred and as such, no one is allowed to kill or bring an end to the life of another except in accordance with the law. Whether a foetus under Islamic law is entitled to enjoy this protection or not is a subject that is hotly debated by Muslim scholars. Abortion has a direct link to the right to life because when abortion is done, it simply brings an end to the life of the human being in the womb that is in the process of development. Abortion is generally prohibited under Islamic law because it is tantamount to killing a human being that has not fully developed. Muslim jurists are not unanimous on the stage and conditions that can warrant the permissibility of abortion. This study therefore intends to employ a doctrinal analysis in its methodology to examine the respective views of jurists on abortion. The study examines the definition of abortion from the juristic and medical perspectives, the concept of abortion under Islamic law an...
Abortion from an Islamic Perspective: Permission and Prohibition Positions
International Journal of Innovative Research in Medical Science,, 2020
Abortion is a common controversial ethical issue among humanists, feminists, liberals, and religious groups worldwide. Many countries permit induced abortion, or the deliberate termination of pregnancy, for various reasons e.g., as a means of contraception, as part of a woman's right to autonomy, or as part of a woman's right to determine the number of children she will bear. Even in Islamic countries, which hold strong religious laws and beliefs, it has been announced that abortion may be permissible before or after the period of "ensoulment" in certain circumstances and on medical grounds, so as to safeguard women from serious problems that might put their lives at risk. However, some religious groups do not support abortion. Therefore, it is critical to explore Islam's position on the prohibition or allowance of induced abortion.
Abortion in Different Islamic Jurisprudence: Case Commentaries
Asian Bioethics Review, 2011
Fatemeh, a 15 weeks' pregnant woman, was diagnosed as a carrier of thalassaemia minor, incidentally during an anaemia follow up. She had recently moved to Tehran with her family from her rural hometown in the northern part of the country because her husband Mohsin found a new job in Tehran. The news was terrible for the whole family as her husband was a carrier too. The compulsory thalassaemia test taken before their marriage had shown that Mohsin is a carrier but it was negative for Fatemeh. After having consulted with a clinical geneticist, they agreed to go for an Amniocentesis test to see if the foetus was affected. The consultant advised them to test their two children, Atena their seven-year-old daughter, and Reza their four-yearold son. The tests revealed that Atena is a carrier (thalassaemia minor) and Reza is healthy. The Amniocentesis test showed her foetus with thalessaemia major. After discussing with Mohsin, the couple decided to ask for abortion. Fatemeh and Mohsin are both practising Muslims and are concerned about the Shari'a law on abortion. They consulted with her doctor, who is also a Muslim, on whether they can apply for a legal abortion. • Thalassaemia syndromes are a heterogeneous group of inherited anaemia's characterised by defects in the synthesis of one or more of the globin chain subunits of the haemoglobin tetramer. Clinical manifestations are diverse, ranging from asymptomatic hypochromia and microcytosis to profound anaemia, which can be fatal in the uterus or in early childhood if untreated. Skeletal changes, hepatomegaly, cardiac dilation, small airway obstruction, enlargement of the kidneys, pigmentory gallstones, and growth retardation are reported to result from the disease (Bernard 2000).
Ensoulment and Abortion in Islam
This article identifies ways in which philosophical ideas of personhood influence rulings concerning abortion. The terms ‘life’, ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’ are clarified through a comparative study of authoritative Shīʿa texts. There is a consensus that ensoulment occurs at four months, when the spirit causes the emergence of potentiality for rational thought. This stage marks a significant change in the status of the foetus, and abortion after this stage is prohibited except in extreme circumstances when the mother’s life is threatened. Recent rulings by Shīʿa scholars on abortion at earlier stages are interpreted in terms of potentiality for ensoulment. The distinction between active and passive potentiality for ensoulment clarifies the reasons why jurists hold different views on whether the prohibition of abortion applies before the stage of implantation. The relevance of this discussion to some methods of contraception is indicated.
This paper discusses the ethical practices of abortion in the perspectives of Sunni Islam and Roman Catholicism. How can one decide that abortion is the right choice without jeopardising religiosity? To what extent do religious traditions affect decisions with matters of life and death? Are there alternative solutions in understanding texts based on the paradigms of individual circumstances? In addressing these challenges, this paper will be looking into the comparison of teachings between two oldest religious traditions in the world. The paper will attempt to develop a comprehensive outlook of the topic by looking into religious traditions, scientific researches, contemporary inputs and integration of personal observations.
Abortion In The Islamic-Ottoman Legal Systems
2008
Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Abortion As a general rule, religions have prohibited the drop of the fetus although the sacrifice of children for various purposes have been widespread among ancient Canaanites, Greeks, Indians (Hindus) and Chinese. Abortion was accepted as a crime committed against the bodily integrity of the woman. In ancient India, the woman miscarrying or aborting her child was dismissed from her caste. Buddhism and Zoroastrian religion forbade abortion. Among Hebrews, in case of an abortion, the husband of the aborting woman was punished. If the case of abortion had led to the death of the mother, the judge inflicted capital punishment to the person who had caused miscarriage by using force, be it the husband or another man (1).
Copyright© Abortion in Iranian Legal System Corresponding Author
Abortion traditionally means miscarriage and is still known as a problem, which societies have been trying to reduce its rate by using legal means. Despite the fact that pregnant women and fetuses have been historically supported; abortion was firstly criminalized in 1926 in Iran, 20 years after establishment of modern legal system. During next 53 years this situation changed dramatically, thus in 1979, the time of Islamic Revolution, aborting fetuses up to 12 weeks of conception and therapeutic abortion (TA) during the entire period of pregnancy were legitimated, based on regulations that used medical justifications. After 1979 the situation changed into a totally conservative and restrictive approach and new Islamic concepts as "Blood Money" and "Ensoulment" entered the legal debates around abortion. During next 33 years, again a trend of decriminalization for the act of abortion has been continued.