A man's wife is pregnant; the fifth month of the pregnancy has begun. According to the ultrasound reports there are complications in the child due to which the child may be born disabled. The doctors advise aborting the child. The husband and wife's hearts do not agree; there is fear of Allah's displeasure, and also fear of caring for a disabled child. What decision should be made in the light of the Shariah?

1. The sanctity of life: human life is sacred, even if the child is in the womb: ﴿وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُمْ مِنْ إِمْلَاقٍ نَحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ وَإِيَّاهُمْ﴾ (And do not kill your children out of poverty; We provide for you and for them) (Surah al-An'am: 151) — ending one's offspring out of any fear or difficulty is prohibited; the fear of disability does not become a justification; provision and life are in Allah's hands.

2. The fear of disability and tawakkul: it is a natural feeling, but its cure is tawakkul: ﴿وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ﴾ (And whoever relies upon Allah — then He is sufficient for him) (Surah at-Talaq: 3). A disabled child can be a blessing and a trial; there is a great reward for caring for him; aborting out of fear amounts to despair of Allah's mercy.

3. The stage of the soul: the soul is breathed in at 120 days (about 4 months) — the hadith of the stages of creation (Sahih al-Bukhari: 3208, Sahih Muslim: 2643). The fifth month has begun, meaning the soul has already come into the child; abortion at this stage is equivalent to murder and a major sin.

4. The ruling: (a) killing a life that has a soul is not permissible; (b) disability — however severe — is not a justification for abortion; a disabled child too has the full right to live; (c) ultrasound predictions are not certain; many times they prove wrong and the child is born healthy — abortion on mere doubt is not correct.

5. The doctors' opinion: medical advice is not above the Shariah ruling. The scholars have permitted it in only one case: the mother's life is in certain danger and her life cannot be saved without abortion (the mother's life takes precedence). Here the mother's life is not in danger; there is only the apprehension of disability — there is no room.

6. Practical guidance: accept the child as a trust from Allah; have tawakkul — Allah will give the strength and means for the care; arrange charity and supplication (charity repels calamities); take a second opinion from a specialist doctor. The husband and wife's heart, which is against abortion, is itself the voice of faith and natural disposition (fitrah).

7. The virtue of patience: a promise of great reward for patience; even if a disabled child is born, raising him can become a means to Paradise.

Summary: In the fifth month, after the soul has come, abortion over the apprehension of disability is haram and equivalent to murder — accept the child, have tawakkul, and await the birth.

Translated from the original Urdu fatwa.