Final Rites [11292012] - AlHuda Sisters

As for the miscarried infant which did not complete four months, it is not considered yet a complete human being. The evidence for this is the Hadith narrated by Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) in which the Prophet said, “(The matter of the creation of) a human being is put together in the womb of the mother in forty days, and then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period, and then a piece of flesh for a similar period. Allah then sends an angel who is ordered to write four things…Then his soul is breathed into him…” (Al-­‐Bukhari) Accordingly, before this period, he would be inanimate—a piece of flesh. He would be buried in any place without (ritual) washing, nor shrouding or offering nor offering of the funeral prayer. However, after four months of gestation, the baby is considered a human being. As Allah said in Surah Al-­‐Mu’minun: “Then We developed him into another creation.” (Al-­‐Mu’minun, 23:14) So he will be treated like the one who died after his birth. The scholars said: “He should be given a name.” [Al-­‐Insaaf] Because this individual will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection when all the people will be called by their names and the names of their fathers. Therefore, he should be given a name such that he will be called by his name on the Day of Resurrection. The scholars also said, “If there was any doubt regarding the sex of the baby—and for some reason this cannot be conclusively determined—then he should be given a name that is suitable for either a male or a female such as Hibatu-­‐Allah (i.e. the gift of Allah), or Atiyyatullaah, and so forth. If the baby is a male, then he should be given a name from the names of males such as Abdullah and if the baby is a female, then she should be given a name from the names of females such as Fatimah, Zainab, and so forth.” (Sharh al-­‐Mumtiee Alaa Zaad al-­‐Mustaqna’ By Shaikh Bin Uthaimeen (may Allah have mercy on him), The Book of Funerals) The Ruling ConcerningOffering the Aqeedah Regarding the Aqeeqah*, if the baby miscarried before the soul was breathed into it, then no Aqeeqah is offered for it. If it is discharged dead after the soul was breathed into it, the scholars provided two opinions. Some of them stated that no Aqeeqah is required and the other group of scholars stated that the Aqeeqah should be offered because after breathing the soul, the infant is a human being whose intercession is sought on the Day of Resurrection. This ruling is in contrast to the one to be used when the infant miscarried before the soul was breathed into it. In this latter case, it is not considered a -­‐ 7 -­‐