Short answer
Not as a free choice. In the Hanafi school, abortion after 120 days, when the soul is breathed in, is haram like taking a life. Before 120 days it is sinful without a valid excuse and allowed only for a serious one, such as a real threat to the mother's health. The Maliki school forbids it from conception, some Shafi'is allow it before ensoulment, and the Hanbalis in the first 40 days.
After 120 days abortion is haram and counted as killing a soul. Before that it is sinful without an excuse, and permitted only for a valid excuse such as a real danger to the mother's health confirmed by a reliable doctor; the further the pregnancy has gone, and once limbs have formed, the graver it is.
Other madhhabs
- Maliki
- Forbidden once the sperm settles in the womb, even before 40 days, in the relied-upon view.
- Shafi'i
- The scholars of the school differ: al-Ghazali and others forbid it from conception, while others, such as al-Ramli, allow it before the soul is breathed in. All forbid it after that.
- Hanbali
- Taking a medicine to end a pregnancy in the first 40 days is permitted in the relied-upon view; after that it is forbidden.
Explanation
Human life is sacred in Islam. The Quran forbids killing the soul Allah has made sacred and warns that the girl buried alive will be asked for what sin she was killed. When the Prophet ﷺ was asked which sin is greatest after associating partners with Allah, he named killing your child for fear that it will eat with you.
The Prophet ﷺ described the stages of the unborn child: forty days as a drop, then a clinging clot, then a lump of flesh, after which an angel is sent and the soul is breathed in. From this the Hanafi scholars hold that the soul enters at 120 days. After that point abortion is the killing of a person. Before it, the embryo is still a growing life with its own sanctity, so the Hanafi texts do not treat early abortion as a trivial matter either.
The Sunnah shows this protection even in hard cases. A woman who confessed to zina was told to go away until she had given birth, and her punishment was delayed so that the unborn child would not be harmed.
Before 120 days, the excuses the Hanafi scholars discuss include a serious threat to the mother's physical or mental health confirmed by a trustworthy doctor, and the classic case of a mother whose milk would stop while her nursing baby has no other food. Financial pressure, bad timing or the baby's sex are not excuses. Many contemporary scholars count a pregnancy from rape as a strong excuse before 120 days. For a severe fetal condition or a danger to the mother's life, see abortion for a fetal abnormality or to save the mother.
If you have already had an abortion, the door of repentance is open and Allah forgives those who turn to Him sincerely. See does Allah forgive all sins. For any decision now, speak to a mufti with your doctor's report.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Israa 17:33
وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا۟ ٱلنَّفْسَ ٱلَّتِى حَرَّمَ ٱللَّهُ إِلَّا بِٱلْحَقِّ ۗ وَمَن قُتِلَ مَظْلُومًۭا فَقَدْ جَعَلْنَا لِوَلِيِّهِۦ سُلْطَٰنًۭا فَلَا يُسْرِف فِّى ٱلْقَتْلِ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ مَنصُورًۭا ﴿٣٣﴾
And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right. And whoever is killed unjustly - We have given his heir authority, but let him not exceed limits in [the matter of] taking life. Indeed, he has been supported [by the law].
Taking a life that Allah has made sacred is forbidden, which is the basis for the ruling after ensoulment.
Quran, Surah At-Takwir 81:8-9
وَإِذَا ٱلْمَوْءُۥدَةُ سُئِلَتْ ﴿٨﴾ بِأَىِّ ذَنۢبٍۢ قُتِلَتْ ﴿٩﴾
And when the girl [who was] buried alive is asked For what sin she was killed
Killing one's own child is a crime the Quran says will be questioned on the Day of Judgement.
Quran, Surah Al-Muminoon 23:14
ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا ٱلنُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةًۭ فَخَلَقْنَا ٱلْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةًۭ فَخَلَقْنَا ٱلْمُضْغَةَ عِظَٰمًۭا فَكَسَوْنَا ٱلْعِظَٰمَ لَحْمًۭا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَٰهُ خَلْقًا ءَاخَرَ ۚ فَتَبَارَكَ ٱللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ ٱلْخَٰلِقِينَ ﴿١٤﴾
Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators.
The Quran describes the stages of the unborn child, which the scholars use to discuss when the ruling becomes graver.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3208
Sahih... إن أحدكم يجمع خلقه في بطن أمه أربعين يوما ...
"The creation of each of you is gathered in his mother's womb for forty days, then he becomes a clot for the same, then a lump of flesh for the same, then an angel is sent and the soul is breathed in."
The three stages of forty days are the basis for the Hanafi view that the soul enters at 120 days.
Sahih Muslim 1695
Sahih... اذهبي حتى تلدي ...
"Go away until you have given birth."
The punishment of a pregnant woman was delayed to protect the unborn child.
Sahih al-Bukhari 4761
Sahih... أن تقتل ولدك خشية أن يطعم معك ...
"That you kill your child for fear that it will eat with you."
Killing one's child out of fear of provision is among the greatest sins.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Nikah, Bab Nikah al-Raqiq, on ending a pregnancy. Ending a pregnancy before ensoulment is allowed for an excuse, and scholars such as Ibn Wahban held it sinful without one.
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, chapter on treatment. Discusses ending a pregnancy before the limbs form and the excuses for it.
- Mukhtasar Khalil with al-Sharh al-Kabir, Kitab al-Nikah, on withdrawal and ending a pregnancy. The Maliki view that it is not allowed to expel what has settled in the womb, even before forty days.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.