Sharʿī Ruling on Funeral Prayer for a Miscarriage at Five Months
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām)
Question:
If a woman miscarries a baby at five months of pregnancy, is the funeral prayer performed for it?
Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
If the miscarried fetus is at least four months old, then according to Sharīʿah:
❀ It is given ghusl (ritual washing)
❀ It is shrouded (kafan)
❀ The funeral prayer (ṣalāt al-janāzah) is performed for it
Reason
At four months of gestation, the soul is breathed into the fetus, and it is considered among the living human beings.
Prophetic Ḥadīth:
ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:
«إِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ يُجْمَعُ خَلْقُهُ فِي بَطْنِ أُمِّهِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا نطفة، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ عَلَقَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ مُضْغَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يُبْعَثُ إِلَيْهِ المَلَكُ فَيَنْفُخُ فِيهِ الرُّوحَ»
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, ḥadīth no. 3208)
Meaning:
“The creation of each one of you is gathered in his mother’s womb for forty days as a drop of fluid, then for forty days as a clot, then for forty days as a lump of flesh. Then Allāh sends an angel to breathe the soul into it.”
This totals 120 days — i.e., four months.
Rulings Based on Gestational Age
If the fetus is four months or older:
❀ Ghusl is given
❀ Shrouding (kafan) is done
❀ Funeral prayer is offered
❀ On the Day of Resurrection, it will be raised with other humans
If the fetus is less than four months:
❀ No ghusl
❀ No shrouding
❀ No funeral prayer
❀ It may be buried in any manner, as it is not yet considered a living human
ھذا ما عندي واللہ أعلم بالصواب
