If a child is aborted during the 6th month of the pregnancy (of course not fully developed) due to medical reasons, how would his body be disposed? I mean whether there would be jinaza or what? What if he shows some signs of life at the time of abortion.
Answer
I believe the answer to your question is that if the child breathed after having been delivered, then funeral prayers would be offered. In case he/she didn’t breathe, then whatever acceptable method is available to dispose off the remains, it would be adopted. The best way even in that case would be to bury the child. However, it all depends on the extent the body was formed. If the question whether the child did breathe or not is in dispute, it should be decided on the basis of the observation of the mother or those close to him/her whether he/she cried or not. The basis of my understanding is the following hadith of Sahih Bukhari:
“The funeral prayer should be offered for every child even if he were the son of a prostitute as he was born with a true faith of Islam (i.e. to worship none but Allah Alone). If his parents are Muslims, particularly the father, even if his mother were a non-Muslim, and if he after the delivery cries (even once) before his death (i.e. born alive) then the funeral prayer must be offered. And if the child does not cry after his delivery (i.e. born dead) then his funeral prayer should not be offered, and he will be considered as a miscarriage.”