paul@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (06/07/91)
The Qur'an only has indirect references that might be relevent: 6:151. Say: Come I will recite what your Lord has forbidden to you-- (remember) that you do not associate anything with Him and show kindness to your parents, and do not slay your children for (fear of) poverty-- We provide for you and for them-- and do not draw nigh to indecencies, those of them which are apparent and those which are concealed, and do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden except for the requirements of justice; this He has enjoined you with that you may understand. 17:31. And do not kill your children for fear of poverty; We give them sustenance and yourselves (too); surely to kill them is a great wrong. ------------------------------------------------------------------- One hadith says that the soul is only breathed into the fetus 120 days after conception. Sahih al Bukhari, Book 54, Chapter 6, verse 430 (Kazi Publications' book 4 of the 9 book set, pp. 290-291) Narrated 'Abdullah (bin Mas'ud): Allah's Apostle (PBUH), the true and truly inspired said "(The matter of the Creation of) a human being is put together in the womb of the mother in forty days, and then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period, and then a piece of flesh for a similar period. Then Allah sends an angel who is ordered to write four things. He is ordered to write down his (i.e. the new creature's) deeds, his livelihood, his (date of) death, and whether he will be blessed or wretched (in religion). Then the soul is breathed into him. So, a man amongst you may do (good) deeds till there is ony a cubit between him and Paradise and then what has been written for him decides his behaviour and he starts doing (evil) deeds characteristic of the people of the (Hell) Fire. And similarly a man amongst you may do (evil) deeds till there is only a cubit between him and the (Hell) Fire, and then what has been written for him decides his behaviour, and he starts doing deeds charcteristic of the people of Paradise." ------- Sahih Muslim Chapter MCII (1102?), verse 6390 is almost exactly the same, but with the omission of "Then the soul is breathed into him." (Siddiqi translation, volume 4, p. 1391) ------- In volume 9 of Kazi Publications Sahih al Kukhari, in book 83 I believe there's a hadith which states that if a pregnant women is injured and miscarries then the injurer owes a slave in compensation. (If someone would provide the exact chapter/verse and page I'd appreciate it.)