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What is the ruling of Islamic law regarding assisting a pregnant woman who conceived out of wedlock in aborting her fetus in its second month, and what are the implications of this concerning whether the perpetrator is considered a murderer, and is he liable for blood money (diyya) or fasting?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The soul is breathed into the fetus after four months (120 days). The questioner must offer sincere repentance for assisting in the abortion. If his assistance was limited to facilitating the procedure without directly performing it, then only repentance is required. However, if he directly performed the abortion, as a doctor would, he must pay the blood money (diyya) for the fetus, which is one-tenth of the mother's blood money, and it is paid to the fetus's heirs, excluding anyone who participated in the abortion. As for expiation (kaffara), there is a difference of opinion, but the more cautious approach is to perform it, which involves freeing a slave or fasting for two consecutive months.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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