paul@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Craig Paul) (05/28/90)
I noticed, in group soc.culture.arabic, some statements, without
supporing evidence, that Islam prohibits abortion. I find no statement
in the Qur'an about abortion. The closest the Qur'an comes regards
this prohibition...
Children
- do not kill for fear of poverty 6:151, 17:31
- female offspring buried alive will ask for what crime she'd been slain
81:8-9
- pre-Islamic customs of slaying children 6:137, 6:140
In the ahadith there are some very interesting verses regarding
quickening (entry of the soul into the fetus) which would seem
relevant (as follows)...
Sahih al Bukhari, book 54 (The Book of Creation), Chapter 6 (The
Angels), verse 430
Narrated 'Abdullah (bin Mus'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him):
Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him), the true and truely inspired
said, "(The matter of the Creation of) a human being is put in the
womb of the mother in forty days, and then he becomes a clot of thick
blood for a similar period, and the 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 only 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 ben written for him decides his behaviour, and
he starts doing deeds characteristic of the people of Paradise."
Sahih Muslim, Chapter 1102 (MCII) (The Growth of a Child in the Womb
of a Mother and his Destiny in Regard to his Livelihood, his Deeds,
both Good and Evil), verses 6390-6408, state the same.
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Sahih al Bukhari, Book 83 (The book of Ad-Diyat (Blood Money)),
Chapter 25 (The Fetus Inside a Pregnant Woman) states that a miscarriage
caused by an act of violence would entitle the payment to the woman,
and/or her family, of a slave, in retribution.diwan@cs.umass.edu (Amer &) (05/29/90)
Paul,
I read your note in te soc.religion.islam newsgroup and it raised some
questions in my mind.
Quote from Abdullah (bin Mus'ud) :
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
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)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This appears to bring up the basic question of fate -- do human beings have
any 'control' or are they predestined.
Especially in 2:30 onwards (Al Baqarah, discussion on Adam) it appears that
one of the main distinguishing features of humans is that they do have a will
and they can make their own decisions (this is one of the features that
distinguish them from Angels -- for this reason, Abdullah Yusuf Ali suggests
that Iblis was not really an angel but a jinn -- I don't know what the other
scholars say).
I would appreciate any clarification.
Salaam
Amer
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Amer Diwan
Department of Computer and Information Science
University of Massachusettes
Amherst, MA 01003
(413) 545-0256
diwan@cs.umass.edu diwan@umass.bitnet
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