for if they do so they share in both the sin and the punishment—may Allah grant us well-being. Nor may they undertake an abortion in return for the lure of worldly gain or money, for that payment is remuneration for a sin, indeed for a crime. They must repent to Allah, practise medicine as a trust, and give sincere counsel to the Muslims.

Question: Are there certain months within which it is permissible to abort a fetus, for instance in cases of necessity?

Answer: Terminating a pregnancy is not permissible. The jurists have merely said that it is allowable to expel the nutfa (the fertilised drop) before forty days by means of a lawful medicine, so long as it is still in that stage—although even that is best avoided, for pregnancy is desirable and offspring are desirable.

Question: What if the pregnancy harms the mother’s health, or she suffers from severe pain?

Answer: No—even if it is harmful—because pregnancy is, without doubt, accompanied by hardship. Allah, exalted is He, says, “We have enjoined man to be good to his parents. His mother carried him in hardship and delivered him in hardship” (al-Ahqāf 46:15). Pregnancy certainly entails hardship, illness, and fatigue. For this very reason the mother’s right over her child has been magnified: the Prophet ﷺ urged honouring her three times, whereas he mentioned the father only once. That is solely because of what she endures during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding of dangers and harms. There is no doubt that pregnancy involves hardship and some degree of illness and exhaustion; she must therefore be patient and persevere, and she will be rewarded. Indeed, the outcome of this child may prove beneficial for her and for the Muslim community. In Islam, bringing children into existence and striving to have them is a praiseworthy pursuit.