Nafsul Mutmainnah

"(It will be said to the pious): "O (you) the one in (complete) rest and satisfaction (Nafsul Mutmainnah) ! Come back to your Lord, Well-pleased (yourself) and well-pleasing unto Him! Enter you, then, among My honoured slaves, and enter you My Paradise!" - Surah Al Fajr [89:27-30]

Monday, March 25, 2013

Abortion Due to Fear of Poverty


Questions:
[Q]: O Shaykh the question is in regards to a woman who says that she got preganant and has now reached one month of pregnancy. She claims that due to poverty, she wants to get an abortion. What is the ruling regarding this?
[A]: The Shaykh (May Allaah preserve him) responded by saying:
It is entirely impermissible for her to abort this child.
Allaah 'Azza wa J'al says:
وَلاَ تَقْتُلُواْ أَوْلادَكُمْ خَشْيَةَ إِمْلاقٍ
"Do not kill your offspring for fear of imlaaq (the Shaykh defined imlaaq as poverty)"
[Sooratul-Israa', 17:31]
This verse is a forbidance for them in killing their offspring when they fear poverty, before poverty actually occurs.
Allaah 'Azza wa J'al also says:
وَلاَ تَقْتُلُواْ أَوْلاَدَكُم مِّنْ إمْلاَقٍ
"And do not kill your offspring from imlaaq (poverty)."
[Sooratul-An'am, 6:151]
This is a forbidance for them from killing their children once they are actually experiencing poverty. Allaah 'Azza wa J'al said after the first verse,
نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُهُمْ وَإِيَّاكُم
"We will sustain them and you,"
then Allaah Azza wa J'al said after the second verse,
نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ وَإِيَّاهُمْ
"And we will sustain you and them".
Allaah Azza wa J'al has promised sustenance for his creation. If they want to have an abortion because of poverty then this is an indication that there is weakness in their dependance on Allaah 'Azza wa J'al. They should know and learn, that every new born is created and along with it, its sustenance is created.
Allaah 'Azza wa J'al says:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِينُ
"Verily Allaah is Ar-Razaaq (The Sustainer), Dhul Quwaa (The Owner of Power) Al-Mateen (The Mighty)"
[Sooratul- Dhariyat, 51:58]
We observe that sometimes when a child's father dies, Allaah 'Azza wa J'al turns the hearts in kindness towards this child, and so sustenance comes to this child from the collections and donations that come from the people, and he ends up with more sustenance than he had when his caring father used to go out and try to provide for him. For these reasons, we say that abortion is impermissible for them.
[taken from a tele-link Q&A session with Ash-Shaykh 'Abdul-'Azeez ibn Yahya al-Bura'ee (hafidhahullaah) and the brothers at Mpubs, Tobago on July 7th 2010]