Dear Hadi,
Assalamu aleikum warahmatullah,
Please forgive my abruptness but I urgently need advice on an extremely delicate and critical situation.
I am married two years and have a 9 month old daughter, alhamdulilah. My husband and I have had a very unstable marriage, infidelity on his behalf; and as for me, I have been unfortunately diagnosed with CPTSD which means I have moments of emotional outbursts and can act very impulsively when triggered (upset by something).
Our marriage is slowly becoming more stable and I am seeking psychological support, but I have found out I am pregnant and my 40 days will be done in 1-2 days. My husband wants to do an abortion as he sees harm to our marriage, our daughter's quality of life and my mental health if we do not do an abortion.
Can you help guide or clarify what harm would mean exactly so we can see if this is truly applicable or what we should do. JazzakAllah khair.
Dear Reader,
Given the time-sensitive nature of your question, we have prioritized providing you with our opinion on this situation, once again clarifying that we do not issue fatwas, but will do our best insha'Allah to give advice for your consideration.
There are various opinions among Islamic scholars, both classical and modern, about if and when abortion is permitted in Islam. Aside from a general consensus that it is allowed when the mother’s life is in danger, the opinions range from it should never otherwise be performed to it being allowed for certain compelling reasons in the first 120 days (with others saying within the first 40 or 80 days). We acknowledge that there is an opinion that abortion is somewhat freely allowed up to 40 days, but we stress that this is not the dominant position. To the best of our knowledge, most contemporary juristic councils reject unrestricted permission before 40 days. As a rough guide, the Maliki and Hanbali schools of thought allow abortion for compelling reasons within 40 days, while the Hanafi, Shafii and Shii schools of thought would allow it within 120 days.
We note that the Quran does not make any specific statement regarding abortion, although there are verses that people use to support their position, either prohibiting or allowing abortion:
“Do not kill the soul which God has made sacred, except for a just reason …” (17:33)
This verse is cited by those who prohibit abortion.
The arguments for leniency and some leeway for abortion are supported by verses such as:
“And the [divorced] mothers may nurse their children for two whole years, if they wish to complete the period of nursing; and it is incumbent upon him who has begotten the child to provide in a fair manner for their sustenance and clothing. No human being shall be burdened with more than he is well able to bear: neither shall a mother be made to suffer because of her child, nor, because of his child, he who has begotten it …” (2:233)
Again, these verses do not specifically address the issue of abortion or any related time period.
The notion that abortion (under compelling circumstances) is allowed within the first 120 days comes from the hadith of the Prophet (pbuh), “Each one of you is collected in the womb of his mother for forty days, and then turns into a clot for an equal period (of forty days) and then turns into a piece of flesh for a similar period (of forty days) and then Allah sends an angel who breathes the soul into it, and who is ordered to write four things: his provisions, his lifespan, his deeds, and his misfortune or fortune. Then the soul is breathed into him …” Based on this, the general consensus is that the soul is breathed into the fetus at a 120 days.
However, once again, it is important to note that among all schools of thought, abortion is never treated lightly, and for those who permit it, the permissibility is discussed only within very narrow exceptions. For the schools of thought that say abortion is permitted within a time frame (40, 80 or 120 days), it is not a license to use abortion for simple convenience or to alleviate mild distress, but rather to alleviate a significant harm that would otherwise ensue.
We do not want to be overly restrictive, and we once again remind you that we are just giving our opinion, but we agree with the stance that the harm one would seek to alleviate must be:
1. Real and probable, not imagined or speculative
2. Serious, not trivial or merely uncomfortable
3. Objective, typically assessed by experts (e.g., physicians)
4. Unavoidable except by committing the act of abortion
Danger to the mother’s health is the primary reason that abortion is allowed (even after 120 days), with pregnancy resulting from rape, or the presence of severe fetal abnormalities that make it likely the fetus will not survive outside the womb, also being considered legitimate reasons for an abortion.
There are some Muslim-majority nations (Algeria, Kuwait, Jordan, and Tunisia) that also allow abortion for situations where the mother’s mental health is at risk.
Although mental health considerations may be a legitimate factor to consider when deciding whether or not to have an abortion, our opinion (in keeping with general consensus about the gravity of abortion) is that such considerations also require strong conditions – basically that there would be a substantive psychological condition that would ensue and that:
1. The condition is serious
2. It is medically confirmed by healthcare providers
3. Pregnancy is a direct cause or a major exacerbating factor
4. No reasonable alternative treatment exists
An example of the above may be where medical experts certify that there is a significant risk of post-partum depression that would lead to suicidality and would not be successfully treated by conventional means. Other scholars have allowed the severe psychological trauma associated with rape and having to have a child who is the result of a rape-induced pregnancy within this definition. However, to benchmark this allowance on emotional distress, we note that the consensus opinion is that abortion from pregnancy resulting from illicit but consensual sex is prohibited, although it may obviously cause significant emotional distress, shame, etc., to the unwed mother.
Therefore, our opinion and advice, and Allah SWT knows best, is that your husband’s opinion alone definitely does not suffice. You, along with your doctor, are in a better position to assess the severity of your CPTSD and whether continuing the pregnancy would be a major exacerbating factor that jeopardizes your mental health, and does so in a way which is severe, and which cannot be alleviated, managed or treated in some other way. If your doctor concurs on these conditions, then in your circumstances, and if the abortion could be performed before the 120 day period, then there may be legitimate grounds, and once again Allah SWT knows best.
Because this issue is both complex and controversial, we are including two links to papers from a medical ethics academic perspective that seek to summarize the Islamic perspectives as well as the current fatwas and practices within Muslim countries. We hope that these may provide additional material for you and our other readers.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1016/S0968-8080%2806%2929279-6
https://www.ijirms.in/index.php/ijirms/article/view/906/647
We pray that you are guided to make a choice that brings you comfort and God’s mercy insha’Allah.
In peace.