the grandfather of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah—for a person may drink while in the throes of death, unlike eating. Thus, the author’s wording follows that of Majd al-Din, may Allah have mercy on him.
“A miscarried fetus, if it has reached four months, is washed and the funeral prayer is offered over it. Whoever cannot be washed is given tayammum. The one washing the deceased must conceal anything he sees that is unbecoming.”
His statement, “A miscarried fetus, if it has reached four months, is washed and the funeral prayer is offered over it”: siqṭ, with the sin pronounced with kasrah, may also be pronounced with fatḥah or ḍammah. It means that which has fallen; what is intended here is a fetus that has miscarried from its mother’s womb.
Thus, if it has reached four months from the beginning of the pregnancy—that is, if it has completed four months, not merely entered the fourth month.
What is meant by months here is lunar months, for these are the months that Allah, exalted is He, has made as time-reckonings for people. He says:
“They ask you about the new moons. Say: They are measurements of time for people and for Hajj.” [al-Baqarah 2:189]
They are the months Allah, exalted is He, established for all people from the time He created the heavens and the earth. He says:
“Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve months in the Book of Allah, from the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred.” [al-Tawbah 9:36]
As for the conventional months—the months of the Christians and those who follow them—they have no basis either in revealed law or in the divine order of creation.
As for their lack of basis in the divine order, Allah, exalted is He, made the lunar months the measures of time: “Say: They are measurements of time for people and for Hajj.” [al-Baqarah 2:189]
As for their lack of basis in the revealed law, no fasting, Hajj, or sacred months are linked to them. All rulings pertaining to months are absent from these conventional months that originated with the Christians.