#892: Can an Unborn Child be operated out of the Dead Mother?
892. QUESTION:
“Assalamu Alaikum. Mallam, What is the Islamic rule against these
A pregnant woman prepared for a cesarean section C/S but before the procedure she die and the baby is still alive My question goes like this : Is she to be burried while the baby is still in utero or the baby is to be removed?”
ANSWER:
Wa alaykumu salām wa warahmatullah wabarakātuh.
Alhamdulillāh.
Know, may Allāh illumine your heart and soul, that the woman who passed away while in the pain of pregnancy is regarded a Shahīdah.
This is by the agreement of the Ulamā.
In the Hadith that was recorded by Abū Dāwud from Jābir bn ‘Atīq, the Rasūl -salallāhu Alayhi Wasallam – said
الشهداء سبعة سوى القتل في سبيل الله: المطعون شهيد، والغريق شهيد، وصاحب ذات الجنب شهيد، والمبطون شهيد، والحرق شهيد، والذي يموت تحت الهدم شهيد، والمرأة تموت بجمع شهيد
“The Shuhadāh, aside from the one who is killed on the Path of Allāh, are seven:
The one who is killed by a plague is Shahīd
The one who dies by drowning is Shahīd
The one who dies of Pleurisy is Shahid
The one who dies of severe stomach pain is Shahid
The one who dies of burns is Shahid
The one who dies under the rubble
The woman that dies with her pregnancy is Shahid”
And Hāfidh Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalānī Rahimahullāh mentioned in the Fat’h that of all these categories, the one that most adequately fits to be Shahadah is the pregnant woman without a doubt. And this is clear and plain. Why not? Since in her efforts are not only severe pains that all of the preceding ones undergo, but in her efforts is life, it is sacrifice for a soul and a value addition to the Ummah.
May Allāh have mercy upon all the Pregnant Women, bless them, cleanse their sins, strengthen them, bless their wombs and deliver them safely, amīn.
As for those that pass away while in pregnancy, may Allāh illumine their Graves and grant them the highest positions in Jannah, amīn.
As for the question on her baby, then know that the Ulamā are in agreement that if it is possible to take out the baby through the path that a woman normally gives birth through without necessarily opening her up, then this must be done.
This is a single statement that the Fuqahā are agreed upon. It is not permissible to leave the baby in there provided he is alive and it is not permissible to bring him out by opening her up in this scenerio.
Then, if it is not possible to take out the baby from the normal path from which Childbirth happens like the situation you depicted, the Fuqahā have differed on that.
The position held by ‘Atā, Ibn Al-Qāsim Al-Mālikī and that championed by Khalīl bn Is’hāq Al-Mālikī is that it is not permissible to operate her to remove the baby.
This position is the dominant view to the Hanbalis too. Whereas the Hanafī, Shāfi’ī, Suhnūn among the Mālikī Imāms and Ibn Hazm Al-Andalusī hold that it is permissible to take out the baby by opening her up.
There is no doubt that the Principles of the Sharī’ah support the second position much more than the first. This is because in the doing of it is the saving of a living Soul and Allāh knows best. Please note that this is as regards a living child.
If the baby were confirmed to have died alongside the mother, there is no doubt and difference among the Fuqahā that they must he buried together.
And Allāh knows best. May Allāh strenghten all pregnant women.
And before we leave this juncture, it is important to emphasize on husbands to take good care of their pregnant wives. Please learn to appreciate and show them utmost care, may Allāh bless your homes, amīn.
Bārakallāhu Fīkum.
Jazākumullāhu Khayran.
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