Gender-based Infanticide: Islamic Response

By: Joseph Nachar

Abortion is defined as the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, and expulsion of a fetus from
the uterus by natural causes before it is able to survive independently. In many cases, Religion plays a
dominant role in order to decide in regards to the matter, while sometimes in some cases it becomes a
life or death situation. Islamic ideology of the concerning matter regard abortion as Haram, meaning
a wrong doing by the will of Allah, and a forbidden act as life is a gift form od. However, !uslims
actually believe in the same concept, that if the mothers life is at danger, that abortion is permitted and
can be considered, only if the child in the mothers womb is older than "#$ days. %he &ur'an does not
explicitly refer to the whole decision of whether or not to pursue the act of abortion, but offers
guidance on related matters when trying to relate to what decision to ta(e.
%he Islamic view is based on the very high priority the faith gives to the sanctity of life. In this the
&uran states the importance and treasury of an Islamics life. )...and *Allah+ is the one who gave you
life, then shall He ordain you to die, then shall He give you your life again, truly man(ind is
ungrateful) *,hapter ##, verse --+. %hrough this verse we experience the sanctity of life through an
Islamics point of view and approach towards life itself, stating how one is to live, die and be born again
through the .udgement of Allah. /or this approach we see that one cannot )....ta(e not life which Allah
has made sacred) *,hapter -, verse "0"+. %his thus refers to the commandment of not to murder or (ill.
/rom the response shown throughout the &uran, according to these extracts, we can see as to why a
specific approach to the matter and issue of ender based Infanticide through abortion is forbidden.
1hosoever has spared the life of a soul, it is as though he has spared the life of all people. 1hosoever
has (illed a soul, it is as though he has murdered all of man(ind 2&ur'an 034#. %his is a 5uote
specifically aimed and targeted to the act of abortion. It is evidential as to why (illing is forbidden,
because it is seen as un.ust and and act of evil through wic(edness. %he fact that one (ills a human
being through the act of free will, against the will of Allah is seen to be a great sinner through the eyes
of Allah.
6ill not your offspring...7urely, (illing them is a great sin 2 &ur'an "834# is another direct attempt
for the &uran to show great significance of sin towards to act of abortion. 9evertheless every
individual, through the eyes of Allah has a significance towards their life, because man(ind was created
in the form and idea of that of Allah. %herefore everyones life, in an Islamic approach is considered
righteous. And as the mother is the originator of the fetus, and because her life is well established, it
ma(es no sense to sacrifice the mothers life in order for that of the child. :fcourse it is not considered a
choice of freewill and chosen without the whole concept of deep concern and time of thought, but
scientifically spea(ing, in order to let the mother die for the infant, in most cases the child is (illed as
well. Islam in a way then allows and is lenient to abortion, in order to save the life of the mother
because it sees this as the 'lesser of two evils'. %here is a general principle in 7haria *!uslim law+ of
choosing the lesser of two evils.
As seen above, even in the religion of Islam itself, there is a balance of negative and positive matters
concerning the idea of abortion. %his is evidential as to how beliefs and actions within the same
religion can be shown and thus conflict with each other as to what truly is the righteous and virtuous
decision to ma(e.