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:

I HAVE GONE THROUGH YOUR SITE AND FOUND THAT MOST OF THE ARTICLES ARE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS. I AM LOOKING FOR A DETAILED ISLAMIC STUDY ON "ABORTION" WITH QUARANIC VERSE REFERENCE.
LIKE CAUSES, EFFECTS, REASONS ETC.
AT WHAT PERIOD OF GESTATION DOES THE SOUL ENTERS INTO A FOETUS AS PER ISLAM.
PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM DOING SOME RESEARCH ON THIS SUBJECT. ALSO, SEND ME ANY WEB SITES WHICH I CAN REFER. THANKS.
YOUR BROTHER IN GOD. 

(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:

Abortion in Islam

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.

Your Question: I AM LOOKING FOR A DETAILED ISLAMIC STUDY ON "ABORTION" WITH QUARANIC VERSE REFERENCE.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 140:

Most surely they became losers, who, in their folly and ignorance killed their own children; and made unlawful what Allah had provided them as sustenance, falsely ascribing prohibitions to Allah. Surely, they went astray and were not at all rightly guided.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 151 (part):

You should not kill your children for fear of poverty; for We provide sustenance for you and will provide sustenance for them also.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 17 Surah Israa verse 31:

Do not kill your children for fear of want; for it is We Who provide for them, and for you as well. Indeed, their killing is a heinous crime!

The heinous act of intentionally killing one’s unborn child is akin to the crime of murder in the Sight of Allah Subhanah, and abortion is thus absolutely forbidden and impermissible in Islam. If one performs or is an accomplice in the heinous crime of abortion, and does not sincerely repent to Allah Subhanah for their abomination, they will be held severely accountable for their sin of intentional murder of an innocent soul in the Just and Supreme Court of The Majestic Lord on an Inevitable Day.

In light of the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, the intentional killing of an un-born child or abortion is absolutely and totally forbidden in Islam. The only one exception some jurists and scholars in Islam have reluctantly allowed abortion is when in extreme circumstances and situations, the medical experts come to a solemn conclusion that it would be humanly possible to save only one, either the mother or the un-born child, during a severe pregnancy complication. In such extreme cases where only one of the two, either the mother or the un-born child, can be saved, the jurists have concluded that the life of the one who is alive will take precedence over the one who is not yet born. Other than this one extreme exception, to the best of our knowledge, there is absolutely no room where abortion would be permitted in Islam.

Your Question: AT WHAT PERIOD OF GESTATION DOES THE SOUL ENTERS INTO A FOETUS AS PER ISLAM.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 23 Surah Muminoon verses 13-14:

13 Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest firmly fixed;

14 Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then We made out of that lump bones; and clothed the bones with flesh; then We developed out of it another creature: so blessed be Allah the Best to Create!

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.593 Narrated by Abdullah

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "Each one of you collected in the womb of their 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 deeds, his provision, his age, and whether he will be of the wretched or the blessed. Then the soul is breathed into him.”

In light of the above guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, the creation of each individual is bestowed with ‘soul’ 120 days (four months) after gestation; and Allah Alone Knows Best.

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