and the meaning of the newborn’s istihlal is its crying at birth in a raised voice. Others maintain that istihlal means that any sign of life is observed—crying, sneezing, or movement—so it is not restricted to crying alone. In any case, istihlal after delivery is evidence that the child has emerged alive with a stable life, thereby satisfying the second condition.

As for the first condition—that the child already existed in the womb when the deceased passed away—it is verified when the baby is delivered within the legally defined term of pregnancy, which has both a minimum and a maximum that vary with circumstances. A fetus born after the death of the estate-leaver may fall under three situations:

1. The child is born alive before the lapse of the minimum gestational period counted from the moment of the deceased’s death. In this situation it inherits without restriction, because its survival for that length of time after birth proves that it was already present before the deceased died. By unanimous agreement, the minimum duration of pregnancy is six lunar months, based on the verse: “and his gestation and weaning together last thirty months” (Q 46:15) together with: “Mothers shall breastfeed their children for two complete years” (Q 2:233). When the two full years—twenty-four months—are subtracted from thirty, six months remain, and that is the shortest possible term of pregnancy.

2. The child is born after the maximum gestational period counted from the time of the deceased’s death. In this case it does not inherit, because a birth beyond that limit indicates that conception occurred only after the deceased had passed away.

The scholars have differed over how long this maximum period is, holding three opinions: