Question:
Asalamo Aleikom wa Rahmatollahi wa Barakatoh, i am Hanafi, but my question is this: I heard in mosque once that: in Shafi’i Madhab it is not allowed to do Caesarean section on a dead woman who has a living child in her stomach. Is this true 🙂 JazakAllaho Khayran Katheera 🙂
Country: Norway
Answer:
Wa alaykum salam wa rahmatuLlahi wa barakatuHu,
Abu al-‘Abbas Ibn Surayj maintained that the child should be removed from its deceased mother as the sanctity of the living is more than that of the deceased. The detail is also mentioned by the Shafiyyah that in the instance when the fetus would be able to live outside the womb, then such an operation should be performed. (al-Hawi al-Kabir v. 3, p. 62) The reason for performing such an operation is to save a life. If the baby’s life can be saved, it is obligatory to do so. (Tuhfat al-Muhtaj v. 3, p. 225)
And Allah knows best.
Shafiifiqh.com Fatwa Dept.