BLOG 85 - Abortion

[Dr. Shabbir]

ABORTION BY CHOICE
January 14th, 2008 by Dr. Shabbir

Q: Is abortion allowed just because a couple ‘has completed their family’ and wants no more children?
A: Let us reverse the question: Is it forbidden in the Quran? The answer is NO!

7:33 Say, “My Lord forbids only: Indecent shameful deeds, open or secret, actions that hurt the ‘self’ and drag down the individual and collective human potential, unjust aggression, associating others with God (Shirk), for which He has sent down no authority, and that you say things about God that you do not know.”

Elective abortion does not belong to any of the above. However, my capital NO is an answer with a strict qualification or condition. The abortion must be performed by competent medical staff so that the mother’s health is not endangered. [2] …

This QA is an excellent example of how the fine details of Quranic commands can keep adapting to the changing times and different environments. If Dr. Shabbir lived in the 19th century, or even today in a village without competent medical care, he would be guided by the same Quran to say NO to abortion by choice…Shabbir, a life-long student will welcome opinions and criticism.

ABORTION
January 13th, 2008 by Dr. Shabbir

A respected doctor colleague from Canada has asked me about the Islamic directives concerning abortion.
Respected brother, Wa Salamun alaikum!

As you know, my opinion carries no weight. We must turn to the Divine Criterion for guidance.
The Quran forbids KILLING of CHILDREN for fear of poverty, that’s all.

6:151 — Neither kill your children for fear of poverty nor deprive them of proper training and education. We provide for you and for them —
Obviously, this is not abortion. But ask any Mullah and he would try to thrust his own opinion countering the Quran. Through the same verse, the Mullah declares Haraam even contraception since he can find no prohibition in the Book!

Interestingly, there is a nasty forged Bukhari Hadith which the Mullahs consider authentic, but ignore here: A man inquired, “We earn income from these bondwomen, (other narratives mention prostitution) so can we do ‘Azl (Coitus interruptus) with them?” The Prophet said, “There is no sin in doing that.” [Kitabul Qadr, the Book of Destiny, 3]. The most famous Mullah of the 20th century, Maududi, comments on this Hadith that it is alright for a master to marry off a slave girl to another man while using her for all personal services except sex. [Tafhim Vol 1 Pg 340]

Lane’s error: Edward Lane translates WALAD as an unborn child. But It always means a little boy or son, and not an unborn child, a girl or daughter. The sex of the fetus could not be determined until recently.

As a rule, where the Quran ignores a situation, it is not because Allah forgot to mention it. Rather, in His infinite Wisdom and Mercy, He left minor details open for human beings to decide according to changing times. If He intended to include the unborn fetus in 6:151, He could have easily used terms like ‘ALAQA’ (Embryo) or MUDHGHAH (Fetus). Or, He could have said: Do not kill MA FIL ARHAAM (What is in the wombs).

23:14 Then We fashioned the gametes into zygote, then a leech-like mass of flesh, then the hanging little lump, the embryo. Then We created bones within the embryonic lump, and then clothed the bones with flesh, designing it into the fetus. And then We made it a new creation (the human infant). So Blessed is God, The Best of creators.

There can be nothing wrong with abortion when the mother’s or the fetus’ health would be endangered. Severe cardiac problems and eclampsia, epilepsy, schizophrenia in the mother, and Down’s syndrome, AIDS, incurable neurological disorders and other such diseases in the fetus diagnosed before birth through amniocentesis are a few examples. Considering the profound emotional trauma, a pregnancy through rape will easily qualify for abortion.

Look here even the prayer taught to us for a healthy baby.

7:189 —. As she grows heavy with the child, they both (husband and wife) implore God, their Lord, “If you grant us a healthy baby, we shall certainly be among the grateful.”

The Quran shows us even prophets praying for a healthy child.

Shabbir Ahmed,
A life-long student