requires this conclusion. If we see a woman who is pregnant, with the pregnancy still in her womb, and no one has had intercourse with her, and four years then pass, are we to say that the pregnancy is not her husband’s child?! This cannot be maintained. The view is based on the claim that no pregnancy lasting more than four years has occurred, but this is incorrect. Pregnancies lasting more than four years have occurred—up to seven years, or nine, and perhaps even longer. The matter concerns something present in the womb which remains there until it is delivered. The correct view, therefore, is that there is no maximum limit to pregnancy.

Question: What is the shortest period in which human features become discernible?

Answer: The shortest period in which human features become discernible is eighty-one days, while the usual period in which they become discernible is ninety days.

His statement, “It is permissible to expel the sperm-drop before forty days”: that is, it is lawful to expel the sperm-drop before forty days. The sperm-drop is the drop of semen; it may be expelled from the womb. However, the author stipulates that this must be before forty days have elapsed from the beginning of the pregnancy, because it remains so, by Allah’s permission, as the Prophet ﷺ said: “For forty days, it is a sperm-drop; then it becomes a clinging clot for the same period; then it becomes a morsel of flesh for the same period; then the angel is sent to it and commanded to breathe the soul into it” (1).

The author also stipulated another condition, saying:

“By means of a permissible medicine.” As for an unlawful medicine, it is not permissible. The apparent meaning of the author’s words is that this applies whether there is a need for it or not.