Q: In the Q&A section an answer by the Council of Ulama said that you could have an abortion before 120 days. But during the first trimester (13 weeks) the mother is able to hear the child’s heartbeat over ultrasound. So how is killing a living child correct in Islam? I consider myself a patron against abortion as I believe it is the act of taking human life, even at the early stages.
A: Abortion is not allowed per se, but there has to be compelling reasons accepted by the Shari’ah for its legality. If the reason is not accepted in Shari’ah, it will not be permissible to have an abortion. And when the reason is legitimate, the stipulation is that it must be done within one hundred and twenty days and not thereafter. An abortion after one hundred and twenty days is not permissible. The reason for the stipulation of aborting before one hundred and twenty days is that the Rooh (soul, actual life) enters the foetus on the hundred and twentieth day and this fact is supported by the Hadeeth in Bukhaari (V3 P1174) and also in Muslim (V8 P44).
So although there may be signs of ‘life’ in the foetus before one hundred and twenty days e.g. a heartbeat, etc, actual life enters on the hundred and twentieth day. A heartbeat is a sign that the organs have begun functioning, but that does not necessarily mean that the foetus is a human being. This only comes about when the Rooh is introduced into the body, which as at 120 days. Thus the child becomes alive on the hundred and twentieth day and not before that.
Allah Ta’aala knows best.