Is a Fidyah or Kaffarah incumbent upon me for repenting after intentionally aborting a fetus in the first month of pregnancy without a health reason or a Shari'ah-compliant justification, and is my action considered killing a soul?
Aborting a fetus before forty days of pregnancy is forbidden according to the soundest opinions of scholars, unless there is a legitimate Sharia-compliant justification. The one who commits it must repent and seek forgiveness. Blood money (diyah) and expiation (kaffarah) are not obligatory before the formation of the fetus, unlike when it is after. The Hanafis, Shafi'is, some Hanbalis, and Malikis held the view that abortion is permissible before the insufflation of the soul, while the Malikis absolutely forbade it. The Network and the Council of Senior Scholars have issued fatwas for the absolute prohibition of abortion, due to its corruption of progeny and its opening the door to corruption. You must sincerely repent to Allah, for "regret is repentance," and "the one who repents from a sin is like one who never sinned."
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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