Burying a foetus in Islam
The loss of a foetus is one of the most painful experiences a family can go through. The rulings on how to bury the foetus differ according to the stage of pregnancy and whether the baby showed signs of life after delivery.
The basis for the 120-day distinction
A key distinction in this discussion is whether the foetus had reached 120 days. This is based on the hadith of Ibn Masʿud (may Allah be pleased with him), in which the Prophet ﷺ described the stages of creation in the womb:
إِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ يُجْمَعُ خَلْقُهُ فِي بَطْنِ أُمِّهِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ عَلَقَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ مُضْغَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يُرْسَلُ إِلَيْهِ الْمَلَكُ فَيُنْفَخُ فِيهِ الرُّوحُ
“The creation of each one of you is gathered in his mother’s womb for forty days, then he is a clot for a similar period, then a morsel of flesh for a similar period. Then the angel is sent to him and the soul is breathed into him.”
Because of this hadith, the scholars treated the period after four months as a major point of legal significance in the rulings related to miscarriage.
Before 120 days
If the miscarriage took place before 120 days, the foetus should still be buried respectfully. It should not be discarded or treated without care. However, the full funeral rites are not carried out. There is no janazah prayer in this case, and the burial is simple.
The wisdom behind this is that, before ensoulment, the foetus is not treated in exactly the same way as a deceased person after birth. Even so, the Shariʿah still honours the remains. Therefore, the foetus should be wrapped and buried in a dignified and respectful manner as far as possible.
After 120 days
If the foetus had reached 120 days, then the matter becomes more serious, because this is the stage after which the soul is breathed into the child. Many scholars therefore held that the foetus should be washed, shrouded, prayed over and buried. They also cited the hadith:
وَالسِّقْطُ يُصَلَّى عَلَيْهِ وَيُدْعَى لِوَالِدَيْهِ بِالْمَغْفِرَةِ وَالرَّحْمَةِ
“The miscarried foetus is prayed over, and forgiveness and mercy are supplicated for his parents.”
The foetus is honoured, and the parents are also remembered in duʿa, because they too are carrying sorrow and loss.
Hanafi school – signs of life
Although many scholars held that the foetus after 120 days is given the full funeral rites, the Hanafi school is more cautious regarding the janazah prayer. In the Hanafi position, janazah is performed if the baby showed signs of life after delivery, such as breathing, movement or crying. If there were no signs of life, then the child is still washed, wrapped and buried respectfully, but janazah is not performed.
If the baby showed signs of life after delivery, even briefly, then the ruling is clear. The child is treated as a deceased person in the full legal sense. The baby is washed, shrouded, prayed over and buried. In this case, there is no ambiguity, because the child had entered life outside the womb, even if only for a short time.
This is the clearest case for full funeral rites. The presence of breathing, crying or movement shows that the child lived after birth, and therefore the rulings of a deceased Muslim apply.
Dua for deceased child
اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِحَيِّنَا وَمَيِّتِنَا وَشَاهِدِنَا وَغَائِبِنَا وَصَغِيرِنَا وَكَبِيرِنَا وَذَكَرِنَا وَأُنْثَانَا، اللَّهُمَّ مَنْ أَحْيَيْتَهُ مِنَّا فَأَحْيِهِ عَلَى الإِسْلاَمِ، وَمَنْ تَوَفَّيْتَهُ مِنَّا فَتَوَفَّهُ عَلَى الإِيمَانِ، اللَّهُمَّ لاَ تَحْرِمْنَا أَجْرَهُ وَلاَ تُضِلَّنَا بَعْدَهُ
“O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, those present and those absent, our young and our old, our male and our female. O Allah, whoever You keep alive from among us, keep him alive upon Islam, and whoever You take in death from among us, take him in death upon faith. O Allah, do not deprive us of his reward and do not let us go astray after him.”
اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْهُ فَرَطًا لِوَالِدَيْهِ، وَذُخْرًا، وَأَجْرًا، وَشَفِيعًا مُجَابًا، اللَّهُمَّ ثَقِّلْ بِهِ مَوَازِينَهُمَا، وَأَعْظِمْ بِهِ أُجُورَهُمَا، وَأَلْحِقْهُ بِصَالِحِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَاجْعَلْهُ فِي كَفَالَةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، وَقِهِ بِرَحْمَتِكَ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ
O Allah, make him a forerunner for his parents, a treasure, a reward, and an accepted intercessor. O Allah, make him heavy in their scales, magnify through him their reward, join him with the righteous believers, place him in the care of Ibrahim, and protect him by Your mercy from the punishment of the Fire.