Some questions about 46:15

TG12345 wrote: Where do the commentaries state that 6 months is the minimum time that a baby needs to survive without medical treatment? I have read the tafsirs Ibn Abbas, Al Jalalayn, Ibn Qathir, Muhammad Asad, Yusuf Ali, Maulana Maududi on this verse, and those that say that 6 months is the minimum period say nothing about medical treatment or lack thereof being a factor. They state only that 6 months is the minimum period.

islamispeace wrote: Is it really that hard to figure out?  In the story mentioned by Ibn Kathir and Maududi, the woman gave birth to a healthy baby.  Do you think they had hospitals in those days with advanced medical care?  Do you think there was a physician standing by to provide medical care to mother and child?

Of course there were no such hospitals back then, but there are hospitals like that now. Did the Quran�s author not foresee that when medical science improves, the minimum gestation time will be less than after 6 months?

TG12345 wrote: Secondly, the source you cited stated that the baby �can survive with intensive care�. What do you think this is a reference to, if not medical treatment?

islamispeace wrote: Yes, but you missed the point.  In the story mentioned by Ibn Kathir and Maududi, the baby survived despite the obvious lack of medical care.  Had he been born even earlier, in all likelihood, he would have died.

If intensive care is needed for a baby to survive, it is unlikely that the baby in the story was as young as the story states he is. If not, then how do you know babies had not survived if they were born before reaching the age of 6 months?

TG12345 wrote: Minimum obviously means the lowest amount or number possible. The Quran allegedly states that 6 months is the lowest amount of time possible for a child to be born after conception, according to the commentaries you cited. Obviously, that isn�t true.

islamispeace wrote: Yeah, I know what "minimum" means.  The commentaries state that six months is the minimum amount of time needed for a healthy baby to be born and which can survive independent of medical care.  In other words, six months is the minimum amount of time needed for the natural birth and survival of a baby.  That is all true.

The commentaries state that 6 months is the minimum amount of time needed for a healthy baby to be born, not that it�s the minimum amount of time needed for him/her to be born and survive independent of medical care.

Why are you adding to the commentary what not even Yusuf Ali or Maududi added? They lived at a time when incubators were already invented, and there were medical advances in prolonging life of premature children.

Muslim scholars even in the 21^st century state that 6 months is the minimum amount of time a child can be born after conception, saying absolutely nothing about medical care.

Question

Bismillah Assalaamuu Alaikum warahamatuhlahi wbarakatuh! I am being tediously harassed with this question from the kufar. Can you please send me an answer as soon as possible. "The Koran provides that the length of a normal gestation (pregnancy) is six months (Luqman 31:14; al-Baqarah 2:233; al-Ahqaf 46:15). Luqman 31:14 and al-Baqarah 2:233 provide a nursing period of 24 months. Al-Ahqaf 46:15 provides a total of 30 months for both gestation and nursing combined. This leaves only six months for the period of gestation. We know that this is not true. Normal gestation lasts nine months. Can you explain this error?" May Allah bless you and reward you.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

What the Quran states that the period of pregnancy is six month is correct and you should not say that it is wrong, because the pregnancy has its maximum period and its minimum period. The maximum period of pregnancy is nine months as it is well-known, and its minimum period is six months. There are some women who give birth when she is only six or seven or eight months pregnant, and the born child lives. Allaah, The Most Exalted and The Most High, clarified to us the minimum period of pregnancy because there are some religious rulings that apply to it, like establishing the lineage of a child or denying it, inheritance, divorce, the waiting period and the like. Among these issues, is that if a woman gives birth to a child five months after marrying her, then the new-born is not traced back to the husband.

Therefore, it is not permissible to describe what is mentioned in the Quran as being wrong. Rather, what the Quran states that the minimum period of pregnancy is six months is confirmed by modern science, that the fetus may be born at the age of six months and it can live, and this is what is called a premature baby. Moreover, medical evidence proves that the fetus that is born before a full six months period does not live.

Finally, we advise you to avoid debating with the non-Muslims if you do not have enough religious knowledge in to refute their misconceptions.

Allaah Knows best.

http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/index.php?page=showfatwa&Option=FatwaId&Id=137526

Also, any baby born before 9 months is premature. Most babies born at the age of 6 months suffer some health problems, so they are not �healthy�.

I find the story of the premature child described in the tafsirs as being born healthy and surviving to be extremely unlikely.

Premature babies need medical care, because their organs are not fully developed.

When premature labor develops and cannot be stopped, the health care team will prepare for a high-risk birth. The mother may be moved to a center that is set up to care for premature infants in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

After birth, the baby is admitted to a high-risk nursery. The infant is placed under a warmer or in a clear, heated box called an incubator, which controls the air temperature. Monitoring machines track the baby's breathing, heart rate, and level of oxygen in the blood.

A premature infant's organs are not fully developed. The infant needs special care in a nursery until the organs have developed enough to keep the baby alive without medical support. This may take weeks to months.

Infants usually cannot coordinate sucking and swallowing before 34 weeks gestation. A premature baby may have a small, soft feeding tube placed through the nose or mouth into the stomach. In very premature or sick infants, nutrition may be given through a vein until the baby is stable enough to receive all nutrition through the stomach. (See: Neonatal weight gain and nutrition)

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001562.htm

According to WebMD, a premature infant born before the age of 32 weeks, is unable to feed by mouth.

Feeding Your Premature Infant - Topic Overview

If your premature infant was born before the gestational age of 32 to 34 weeks, he or she cannot feed by mouth. This is because of:

• Poor coordination (or lack) of sucking, swallowing, and gag reflex.
• Weakness of both the oral and stomach muscles.
• Small stomach capacity.

Until your infant becomes stronger and more mature, tube feeding is used to feed milk, formula, or a combination of the two directly into the stomach. For the infant whose gastrointestinal tract cannot yet digest properly or is affected by necrotizing enterocolitis, intravenous (parenteral) feedings are given through a tube into the umbilical site (umbilical catheter) or into a vein.

When your infant is mature enough to feed from a nipple, oral feedings are introduced. Over a period of days or weeks, you can gradually replace more tube or IV feedings with breast-feedings.

Premature infants, including those born at 34 to almost 37 weeks, often have trouble with oral feedings and may need extra help.

In some cases, doctors advise adding a thickening agent to a baby's milk. Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits before using one. If at any time you are having trouble feeding your baby, talk to your doctor or nurse about it

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/tc/feeding-your-premature-infant-topic-overview

As another source tells us:

Oral feeding requires coordination of nutritive sucking, swallowing, and breathing as well.

Oral feeding is not initiated in preterm infants before 32 weeks of PMA mainly because the coordination of sucking, swallowing, and respiration is not established. According to some authors, rhythmic breathing during feeding is first acquired between 34 and 36 weeks' PMA, simultaneously with the maturation of other physiologic processes [33]. In their study, Mizuno and Ueda aimed at establishing normative maturational data for feeding behaviour of preterm infants from 32 to 36 weeks of PMA and evaluating how the relation between swallowing and respiration changed with maturation.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3362836/

Another problem is breathing. A child�s lungs are not fully developed until some 36 weeks.

Particularly when an infant is born before 36 weeks' gestation, the premature infant's lungs are immature, and the body has limited muscle strength and energy for breathing. So the premature infant may not get enough oxygen. This can cause serious medical complications. It is common at birth for a premature infant to need oxygen therapy, a ventilator, and/or medicine to help with oxygen absorption and breathing.

Infants whose lungs have been quickly matured with corticosteroid treatment before birth (antenatal corticosteroids, given by injection to the mother) have a lot fewer medical complications than those who are not treated.

Infants with underdeveloped lungs often lack surfactant, a substance that coats the airways, preventing them from collapsing and sticking together. When premature lungs are treated with surfactant after birth, the infant's blood oxygen levels usually improve within minutes. Surfactant treatment reduces the risk and the severity of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in premature infants as well as the overall risk of death.¹ Surfactant also helps treat RDS.

Unlike corticosteroid treatment before birth, giving corticosteroids to a baby after birth (postnatal) is losing favor in the medical community. Current research is focusing on how this medicine can be safely used to improve lung function without causing neurological deficits, gastrointestinal bleeding and damage, blood sugar problems, and high blood pressure.

http://www.webmd.com/children/tc/premature-infant-treating-underdeveloped-lungs-topic-overview

Inability to maintain body heat is another problem that is faced. An infant who is born premature cane be moved into a crib after 34 weeks. Before this, an incubator is necessary.

Premature Infant's Inability to Maintain Body Heat

The premature infant's body is unable to maintain body heat. To prevent hypothermia, a potentially dangerous loss of body heat, the infant is kept warm on a heated bed, either inside a draft-free enclosure (isolette or incubator) or under a radiant heater.

As the infant's nervous system, skin, and metabolism mature, the infant becomes less vulnerable to hypothermia. At about 34 weeks' gestation, a premature infant usually can be moved into an open crib.

http://www.webmd.com/children/premature-infants-inability-to-maintain-body-heat

I find it highly unlikely that a baby can survive at 6 months without advanced medical care.

TG12345 wrote: If there are �exceptions to the rule�, then 6 months is not the minimum, some other period of time is. Presently, it is 22 weeks. It may even get lower, we don�t know.

Islamispeace wrote: Yes, but with advanced medical care.  A baby would be placed in a NICU (neonatal intensive care unit).  Did they have those in 7th-century Arabia or anywhere else in the world at the time?

Not even the tafsirs of Maududi or Yusuf Ali mention advanced medical care, they state simply that 6 months is the minimum period. So does the fatwa on Islamweb, which was clearly written in 2009.

Secondly, as we have seen, a child born at 6 months has underdeveloped lungs, and the inability to provide its own body heat or even eat properly. How do you think one would have survived in the 7^th century without the medical care? Based on what I have read, I believe that the child was either born much later than at 6 months, or the story was made up.

TG12345 wrote: How did you come to the conclusion that �sound and complete� means survival without medical intervention?

Islamispeace wrote: I would think it would be common sense given that hospitals and the advances in medical care are largely modern phenomena.  They didn't exist 1400 years ago.

Then Yusuf Ali or Maulana Maududi or the scholars at IslamWeb should have pointed that out. They however kept insisting that 6 months is the minimum age or viability.

Given the fact that children born before 30 weeks are unable to properly either eat or breathe, common sense would also dictate that a 6 month old child would not survive without advanced medical care.

TG12345 wrote: Even some 21st century Muslim scholars, despite all the medical advancements that exist, continue to state that 6 months is the minimum amount of time that a child can be born and live. Here is an answer to a question from �Islamweb�.

Islamispeace wrote: Which is true, as the story mentioned by Ibn Kathir and Maududi showed.

They would have been in the perfect position to state that the 6 months minimum age of viability only applies to people who have no access to hospitals or medical care, but they didn�t.

And as we have seen, babies who do not have access to medical care at such a premature age have basically no chance of surviving.

TG12345 wrote: f we are talking about the 24th week (where the odds actually are 50/50), we are talking about the 5th month, not the 6th. Today is the 3rd week of September. Are we in the month of September, or the month of October?

Islamispeace wrote: 24 weeks is equal to 5.5 months.  In other words, we have 5 full months and a half of the sixth month.  Hence, we are in the 6th month.  At the end of September (9/30), we would have 9 full months.  So, on 9/15, we were halfway through the month of September.  In other words, we were 8.5 months through the year (August being the 8th month).  Let's simplify it.  January 1 to January 7 is the first full week of the year, right?  It is week 1.  It starts on January 1 and ends on January 7.  But what would January 4 indicate?  Is it not equivalent to 0.57 weeks?  Does that not mean that we are more than halfway through the first week?  Or does it mean that we are in the "0th" week?

We may be in the 6^th month at the age of 24 weeks, but 6 months hadn�t passed yet.

Let�s read the tafsirs again that describe the decision made by Uthman and Ali, and see what was meant by 6 months.

Tafsir Ibn Qathir

(And (the period of) his gestation and weaning is thirty months,) `Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, used this Ayah along with the following two Ayat to prove that the minimum period of pregnancy (gestation) is six months:

﴿وَفِصَالُهُ فِى عَامَيْنِ﴾

(And his weaning is in two years.) (31:14) and

﴿وَالْوَلِدَتُ يُرْضِعْنَ أَوْلَـدَهُنَّ حَوْلَيْنِ كَامِلَيْنِ لِمَنْ أَرَادَ أَن يُتِمَّ الرَّضَاعَةَ﴾

(The mothers suckle their children two complete years -- for those who desire to complete the term of suckling. ) (2:233) This is a strong and valid conclusion, and it was approved by `Uthman and a number of the Companions. Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar narrated from Ba`jah bin `Abdullah Al-Juhani that a man from his tribe (Juhaynah) married a woman from Juhaynah. She delivered a baby after six months. So her husband went to `Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, and told him about that. Thus, `Uthman summoned her. When she was getting dressed, her sister started crying. She asked her: "Why do you cry By Allah, no one has ever approached me (for sexual relations) of Allah's creation except him (my husband). So let Allah decree (for me) as He wills.'' When she was brought before `Uthman, he commanded that she be stoned to death (for adultery). `Ali heard of this, came to `Uthman, and said: "What are you doing'' He (`Uthman) said: "She delivered after six months! Can this ever happen'' `Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Don't you read the Qur'an'' He said: "Yes, of course!'' He (`Ali) then said: `Haven't you heard Allah's saying,

﴿وَحَمْلُهُ وَفِصَـلُهُ ثَلاَثُونَ شَهْراً﴾

(and his gestation and weaning is thirty months), and;

﴿حَوْلَيْنِ كَامِلَيْنِ﴾

( two complete years) (2:233) (Subtracting the two numbers) we are only left with six months.'' `Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "By Allah, I did not see that! Bring the woman back.'' But they found that she had already been killed. Ba`jah continued: "By Allah, no two crows and no two eggs are more similar than that child turned out to be to his father! When his father saw that he said, `By Allah! This is my son without any doubt.' Later on, Allah afflicted him with a skin abscess in his face (because of his false accusation to his wife). It kept eating him up until he died.'' Ibn Abi Hatim related from his father that Farwah bin Abi Al-Maghra' told them that `Ali bin Mushir narrated to them from Dawud bin Abi Hind, who narrated from `Ikrimah that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "When a woman delivers after nine months, the baby will only need twenty-one months of suckling. When she delivers after seven months, the baby will need twenty-three months of suckling. When she delivers after six months, the baby will need two full years of suckling, because Allah says,

﴿وَحَمْلُهُ وَفِصَـلُهُ ثَلاَثُونَ شَهْراً حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ﴾

(and his gestation and weaning is thirty months, till when he attains full strength).'' meaning, he becomes strong, youthful, and attains full ability.

﴿وَبَلَغَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً﴾

http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2042&Itemid=102

Maulana Maududi Quran Commentary

Another legal point also is derived from this verse and verse 14 of Surah Luqman and verse 233 of Al-Baqarah, which was pointed out by Hadrat `Ali and Hadrat Ibn 'Abbas in a law case and made Hadrat `Uthman change his decision. The story goes that during the caliphate of Hadrat `Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) a person married a woman from the Juhainah tribe, and just six months after the marriage she gave birth to a healthy and sound child. The man took the case before Hadrat `Uthman, who declared the woman to be an adultress and ordered that she be stoned to death. On hearing this Hadrat `Ali immediately came to Hadrat `Uthman and asked: What sort of a decision have you given ? He replied: She has given birth to a sound child six months after marriage. Is it not a clear .proof of her being an adultress? Hadrat `Ali did not agree, and recited the three above mentioned verses in their sequence. In Surah Al-Baqarah Allah says: 'The mothers shall suckle their children for two whole in years, if the fathers desire the suckling to be completed." In Surah Luqman it is said: "And his weaning took two years," and in Surah AI-Ahqaf: "And his bearing and his weaning took thirty months." Now, if two years of suckling are taken away from 30 months, six months of bearing remain. This shows that the minimum period of pregnancy in which a sound child can be born is six months. Therefore, the woman who has given birth to a child six months after the marriage cannot be declared an adulteress . On hearing this reasoning of Hadrat 'Ali, Hadrat 'Uthman admitted that he had not considered that thing at all. Then he recalled the woman and changed his decision. According to another tradition, Ibn 'Abbas also supported the reasoning of Hadrat 'Ali and then Hadrat 'Uthman changed his decision. (Ibn Jarir, Ahkam al-Qur an by al-Jassas Ibn Kathir).

The following legal injunctions are derived from the three verses when they are read together: The woman who gives birth to a sound and complete child in less than six months after marriage (i.e. in a proper delivery and not abortion) will be declared an adulteress and her child's lineage from her husband will not be established.

(2) The woman who delivers a sound and complete child six months or more after marriage, cannot be accused of adultery only on the basis of the child birth, nor can her husband have the right to slander her, nor can he refuse to acknowledge fatherhood of the child; the child will certainly be recognized as his, and the woman will not be punished.

(3) The maximum period for fosterage is two years. If a woman has suckled a child after this age, she will not be regarded as his foster mother, nor will the injunctions pertaining to fosterage (An-Nisa: 23) be applicable to her. In this regard, Imam Abu Hanifah has out of caution proposed the period of two and a half years instead of two years so that there remains no chance of error in a delicate matter like the prohibition of the foster relations. (For explanation, see E N. 23 of Surah Luqman).

Here, it would be useful to know that according to the latest medical research a child needs at least 28 weeks to remain in the mother's womb to be developed and delivered as a living baby. This period amounts to a little more than 6 months. The Islamic law has allowed a concession of about half a month, because a woman's being declared an adulteress and a child's being deprived of lineage is a grave matter, and its gravity demands that maximum period be allowed to save both the mother and the child from its legal consequences. Furthermore, no physician and no judge, not even the pregnant woman herself and the man impregnating her, can know as to when exactly did the conception take place. This thing also demands that a few more days be allowed in determining the minimum Legal period of pregnancy. 

http://englishtafsir.com/Quran/46/index.html#sdfootnote19sym

Yusuf Ali in his commentary also makes it clear that the 6 months refers to after a period of 6 months.

The carrying of the (child) to his weaning is (a period of) thirty months.

C4790. In 31:14 the time of weaning was stated to be at the age of two years, i.e., 24 months. See also 2:233.

That leaves six months as the minimum period of human gestation after which the child is known to be viable.

This is in accordance with the latest ascertained scientific facts. The average period is 280 days, or ten times the inter-menstrual period, and of course the average period of weaning is much less than 24 months.

The maximum period of breast-feeding (2 years) is again in accordance with the time that the first dentition is ordinarily completed in a human child.

The lower milk incisors in the centre come out between the 6th and 9th months; then come out the milk teeth at intervals, until the canines appear. The second molars come out at about 24 months, and with them the child has a complete apparatus of milk teeth. Nature now expects him to chew and masticate and be independent of his mother's milk completely. On the other hand it hurts the mother to feed from the breast after the child has a complete set of milk teeth.

The permanent teeth begin at the sixth year, and the second molars come at 12 years. The third molars are the wisdom teeth, which may appear at 18 to 20 years, or not at all.

http://www.quran4u.com/Tafsiraya/046ahkaf.htm

As is indicated by the Islamweb fatwa we have earlier examined, the period alluded to is after 6 full months.

Rather, what the Quran states that the minimum period of pregnancy is six months is confirmed by modern science, that the fetus may be born at the age of six months and it can live, and this is what is called a premature baby. Moreover, medical evidence proves that the fetus that is born before a full six months period does not live.

http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/index.php?page=showfatwa&Option=FatwaId&Id=137526

While 5.5 months means that 5 months have passed and we are halfway in the 6 month, it hasn�t been 6 months yet. The tafsirs clearly state that the verse applies to children born 6 months after marriage.

A child born at 5.5 months has not yet lived 6 months.

If a couple married January 1^st and had a baby on June 15^th, it wouldn�t have yet been 6 months after marriage. A baby born on that date wouldn�t have been born 6 months after they got married, but 5.5 months, even if he was born �in the 6^th month�. A child born 6 months after his or her parents were married would have needed to be born in July.

TG12345 wrote: And again, it is irrelevant when a higher than 50/50 chance of survival kicks in and/or how much medical care is available, since the commentators of the verse clearly said that, according to the Quran, 6 months is the minimum age at which a child can be born. Any child born at the age of 5 months and a week or more already proves this wrong.

Islamispeace wrote: No, it just proves that you are wrong in that you jump to your own conclusions.  As I showed, the absence or presence of medical care is the crucial issue.  In the context of the Quranic verse, it is assumed that no advanced medical care is present and nature is left to run its course.

�Nature running its course� would have meant that the child was unable to suck and swallow, or have fully developed lungs. The outcome would have been either death by malnutrition or choking to death, assuming hypothermia didn�t kill him first.

TG12345 wrote: So people wouldn�t get the false idea that the minimum age of viability is six months, when it clearly isn�t.

Islamispeace wrote: It is the minimum age, as I have already shown.  The sixth month is crucial for development.  So, any baby born at that time, has a good chance of surviving independent of medical care.  A baby born earlier than that has very little chance of surviving.  The 6th month is the period at which the lungs undergo development.  Even though they are not fully developed, they are still crucial for survival.  Now, of course, the ideal gestational age is 9 months, but the Quran stated correctly that a lower gestational age is also possible.  People in that time assumed that it had to be 9 months only.  The Quran corrected this misconception.

How could a baby without fully developed lungs have survived? How can a baby survive also without being able to feed itself?

Aside from this alleged incident, I would be very interested to hear about any other case of a child surviving after having been born at 6 months, without any medical support.

TG12345 wrote: Interesting. What was understood by the word �cure�?

Islamispeace wrote: Obviously, it meant anything that is used to treat a disease.

By �treating� it, do you mean alleviating the symptoms or making the patient healed?

TG12345 wrote: If a baby is born at 5 months and a week instead of six, the mother would have to wean it for a shorter period of time. Yet doctors are recommended to encourage mothers to breastfeed children for two years or more.

Islamispeace wrote: No, if a baby was born at 5 months, the weaning period would be 25 months (to make 30 total).  At 6 months, it would be 24 months.  Moreover, the source you quoted states that weaning can be "up to two years" and beyond if the mother and infant are willing: "Encourage continued breastfeeding up to two years and beyond if desired by mother and infant, while providing appropriate nutritional guidance (level III-A)."

Notice that the doctors are urged to �encourage� continued breastfeeding up to two years and beyond.

Here is what other sources state:

How long should a mother breastfeed?

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mother and baby desire. The World Health Organization recommends continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond.

http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/faq/index.htm

We see that breastfeeding up to two years of age (or longer) is recommended by the World Health Organization. The AAP recommends at least a year.

Why would the Quran�s author state it should be two years only for the most premature kids?

TG12345 wrote: The �.5� indicates that we are halfway through the 5th month, not the sixth. If we are going to go by the lunar calendar, it would indicate we are � of the way through the fifth month.

Islamispeace wrote: You are mistaken.  Look at a calendar.  How many months is it between January 1 to May 31?  Is it not 5 full months?  Mathematically, that would be written as 5.0 months.  Once we enter June, we are in the 6th month and hence it would be 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 etc up to 6.0, which is the end of June.

Correct, but the tafsirs state the minimum age of viability is after 6 months. 6 months have not yet passed at the period of 5.5 months. 5.5 months is half a month after 5 months, not after 6 months.

TG12345 wrote: As of today (September 26, 2014), how many months has it been from January 1, 2014? Nine or ten?

Islamispeace wrote: As of 9/30 (the last day of September), we would have 9 full months.  Written mathematically, that would be 9.0.  As we progress through October, it would be 9.1, 9.2, 9.3 etc.  At the end of October, we would have 10 full months, i.e. 10.0 months.

Despite this, September 26 is not as of yet �10 months after January�. We hit that on October first.

TG12345 wrote: BTW, what�s with the rounding off of 5.75 months to 6? The commentaries clearly state that 6 months is the minimum.

Islamispeace wrote: Why not?  Do you really think that it has to be exactly 6.0 months, down to the last decimal point?  Was someone counting the days and months for the pregnancy of the woman mentioned in the story?  Of course not.

The tafsirs clearly say that Ali and Uthman decided the minimum period of gestation is after 6 months.

And yes, some Muslims do believe that the figure of 6 months minimum is a very precise one, for good reason. Remember, a child that is born to a woman after less than 6 months is considered a product of adultery.

The question that arises here is why should God give us the minimum rare case to demonstrate the issue instead of the normal case? The answer is related to the unparalleled precision of the Qur�anic language. The Qur�an is the source of a strong legal system, which rules over people�s lives, and like�if not superior to�any legal text, the language should be accurate. In the case you are talking about, if the duration of pregnancy is stated to be only that of nine months, and that the only viable babies are those born after nine months, this will lead to a big legal confusion concerning the issue of paternity.

The following story may demonstrate how Allah�s keenness to mention the minimum rather than the normal period of gestation helped to clear up a very thorny legal matter. A woman gave birth to a six-month baby. Her husband, seeing that the baby alive, thought that his wife had become pregnant from an affair before marrying him�on the assumption that normal labor only occurs after 9 months�therefore, he denied paternity and went to the ruler `Uthman ibn `Affan

Although the woman cried and affirmed the boy�s legitimacy, the Caliph, on hearing the case, ordered the woman to be sentenced to death for adultery. The story reached `Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was known for his unparalleled knowledge of every single word in the Qur�an. He asked `Uthman, �What are you doing?� `Uthman answered, �She gave birth to a perfect child after six months! How could this happen?� Ali Answered, �Don�t you read Qur�an?� �Uthman answered, �Yes, I do.� Ali asked, �Haven�t you heard God saying, *{� and the carrying of him and the weaning of him is thirty months.}* Then saying, *{Mothers shall suckle their children for two whole years.}* Then the difference between the two periods together and the period of nursing becomes six months.�

`Uthman said, �By God, I hadn�t recognized this perfection before.� And he set the woman free.

Thus, God had to state all possible cases for the duration of gestation for legal considerations, especially when related to a sensitive issue like that of paternity and women�s honor.

http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-about-islam/society-and-family/status-of-women/166351-length-of-gestation-in-the-quran

TG12345 wrote: It was referring to survivability up to 5.5 months after birth, in the context of aggressive medical intervention.

Islamispeace wrote: No, it clearly stated under "Methods" the following: "We studied retrospectively all 142 infants born at 22 to 25 weeks' gestation (as judged by best obstetrical estimate) from May 1988 through September 1991 in a single hospital. Mortality in the first six months, including stillbirths, and neonatal morbidity (i.e., the presence of intracranial pathologic conditions, chronic lung disease, and retinopathy of prematurity) were analyzed." I don't know where you got 5.5 months from.

My mistake here. What I meant to write is that at 5.5 months, we reach the 50/50 threshold. The survivability became 56% at 24 weeks, which would be 5.5 months on the solar calendar. Going by the lunar calendar, it would be a bit less than 5.75 months.

As the tafsirs make clear though, the 6 months is a reference to time after 6 months� not in the 6^th month. If this isn�t clear enough, Islamweb clears up the confusion by making it clear that the verse is a reference to a full 6 month period.

TG12345 wrote: None of these studies say that at 25 weeks, the probability that a child will survive is 50/50, like you earlier stated. Also, if 25 weeks is 5.77 months, it may be very close to 6 months but it isn�t 6 months, it is 5. Are you using the solar or lunar calendar, btw

Islamispeace wrote: See above regarding your mathematical misconception.  5.77 months would indicate 5 full months plus 0.77 of one month.

As the tafsirs make clear, the two Caliphs mentioned were referring to babies born after 6 months. A 5.77 months old baby has not been born after 6 months.

Islamispeace wrote: And yes, we should be actually looking at the verse from the context of a lunar calendar.  A full lunar year is 354 days.  Hence, six full lunar months are equivalent to around 177 days (177.18354 if you want to get technical), which are equal to 25.285 weeks.  177 days, according to the solar calendar, would be equivalent to about 25.21 weeks.  This is remarkably consistent with the medical data.  The 26th week is considered the "benchmark", and 25.28 lunar months (or 25.21 solar months) would fall right at the beginning of the 26th lunar/solar month.

Yet the survivability hits the 50/50 benchmark sometime before week 24, not 25. Which would mean after 5 months� not after six.