Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Firstly, I would like to congratulate for running such a beautiful and informative source. Truly you are spreading light of Islam in every home.

Alhamdulillah I have one child. When my wife was pregnant she had twin babies. In her first ultra sound we were able to here the heartbeat of both of them. But after few weeks, the heartbeat of one of the baby stopped beating and we were informed that one of the child had passed away but the other one was fine by the grace Almighty Allah. Was the life of the other child was existing who passed away? What is the time period of origination of life in mother`s womb?

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Soul in unborn baby womb

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

May Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this world and the Hereafter for your kind comments of encouragement for our humble efforts in the propagation of the Truth. If our humble and modest efforts have helped even one brother or sister get closer to Allah and His Deen of Truth, then we would consider ourselves indeed fortunate to have been given this opportunity by the Lord Most Merciful to serve in His Cause. We hope, beg, and pray the Merciful Lord accepts our humble and weak efforts, forgives us our shortcomings, and saves you, us, and all the believers from the torment of the Hell Fire. Ameen.

Your Question: Was the life of the other child was existing who passed away? What is the time period of origination of life in mother`s womb?

Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 8.593 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Masud

Allah's Messenger (saws), the truthful and truly-inspired, said, "Each one of you collected in the womb of his mother for forty days, and then turns into a clot for an equal period (of forty days) and turns into a piece of flesh for a similar period (of forty days) and then Allah sends an Angel and orders him to write four things, i.e., his provision, his age, his deeds, and whether he will be of the wretched or the blessed (in the Hereafter). Then the soul is breathed into him.”

If by ‘origination of life’ one means the time period when the soul is breathed into the un-born baby, then in light of the above clear guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws) the soul is breathed into the un-born baby 120 days after its inception.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan