Short answer
A woman who was raped has committed no sin at all. In the Hanafi school, ending a pregnancy from rape before 120 days is allowed by many contemporary muftis, as rape is among the strongest excuses, and the earlier the better. After 120 days it is not allowed unless her life is in danger. Get medical care and support first, then ask a mufti.
Before ensoulment at 120 days, ending a pregnancy is allowed for a valid excuse, and many Hanafi muftis count pregnancy from rape as such an excuse, especially in the first 40 days. After 120 days it is haram; contemporary fatwa councils allow it only when continuing would endanger the mother's life. The victim bears no sin for the rape.
Other madhhabs
- Maliki
- Ending a pregnancy is forbidden from the moment it settles in the womb, in the relied-upon view.
- Shafi'i
- The school's scholars differ about the time before ensoulment; those who allow early termination for an excuse include cases like this. All forbid it after ensoulment.
- Hanbali
- Taking a medicine to end a pregnancy in the first 40 days is permitted in the relied-upon view.
Explanation
If this has happened to you, you are not to blame and you have done nothing wrong. Allah does not hold anyone to account for what was forced on them. Please get medical care as soon as you can, even before you decide anything. In the US, the National Sexual Assault Hotline is 800-656-4673. Elsewhere, call your local emergency number or a sexual assault service. A trusted female relative, friend or counsellor can go with you.
The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah has pardoned his ummah for mistakes, forgetfulness and what they are forced to do. The Quran speaks of women who were forced into sin and says that Allah, after their compulsion, is Forgiving and Merciful. Rape is a crime against you, and the sin is entirely the attacker's.
Emergency contraception. Taking it soon after the attack is strongly allowed, since it mostly prevents a pregnancy from starting. See the morning-after pill.
If a pregnancy has begun. The Prophet ﷺ described the soul being breathed in after the stages of forty days, which the Hanafi scholars take as 120 days. Before that, they allow ending a pregnancy for a serious excuse, and many contemporary Hanafi muftis count rape among the strongest excuses, because of the harm to the woman's mind, health and life. Acting early, before 40 days where possible, is safest. After 120 days it is not allowed unless continuing would endanger her life.
Some women choose to continue the pregnancy. That is also an honourable choice, and the child is innocent and carries none of the father's sin. Whatever you decide, decide with a qualified doctor and ask a trusted mufti. You can also read does Islam allow abortion.
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 An-Noor 24:33
وَلْيَسْتَعْفِفِ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَجِدُونَ نِكَاحًا حَتَّىٰ يُغْنِيَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِۦ ۗ وَٱلَّذِينَ يَبْتَغُونَ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ مِمَّا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُكُمْ فَكَاتِبُوهُمْ إِنْ عَلِمْتُمْ فِيهِمْ خَيْرًۭا ۖ وَءَاتُوهُم مِّن مَّالِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّذِىٓ ءَاتَىٰكُمْ ۚ وَلَا تُكْرِهُوا۟ فَتَيَٰتِكُمْ عَلَى ٱلْبِغَآءِ إِنْ أَرَدْنَ تَحَصُّنًۭا لِّتَبْتَغُوا۟ عَرَضَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۚ وَمَن يُكْرِههُّنَّ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ إِكْرَٰهِهِنَّ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ ﴿٣٣﴾
But let them who find not [the means for] marriage abstain [from sexual relations] until Allah enriches them from His bounty. And those who seek a contract [for eventual emancipation] from among whom your right hands possess - then make a contract with them if you know there is within them goodness and give them from the wealth of Allah which He has given you. And do not compel your slave girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity, to seek [thereby] the temporary interests of worldly life. And if someone should compel them, then indeed, Allah is [to them], after their compulsion, Forgiving and Merciful.
Those forced into a sexual wrong bear no sin for it.
Quran, Surah Al-An'aam 6:164
قُلْ أَغَيْرَ ٱللَّهِ أَبْغِى رَبًّۭا وَهُوَ رَبُّ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ ۚ وَلَا تَكْسِبُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ إِلَّا عَلَيْهَا ۚ وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌۭ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ ۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُم مَّرْجِعُكُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ ﴿١٦٤﴾
Say, "Is it other than Allah I should desire as a lord while He is the Lord of all things? And every soul earns not [blame] except against itself, and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you concerning that over which you used to differ."
Neither the woman nor the child carries the attacker's sin.
Sunan Ibn Majah 2045
Graded sahih... إن الله وضع عن أمتي الخطأ والنسيان وما استكرهوا عليه ...
"Allah has pardoned my ummah for mistakes, forgetfulness and what they are forced to do."
A person under compulsion is not held to account.
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 is a clot for the same period, then a lump of flesh for the same period; then an angel is sent and the soul is breathed into him."
The basis for the Hanafi view that the soul enters at 120 days.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Nikah, chapter on the marriage of slaves, on ending a pregnancy. Ending a pregnancy before ensoulment is allowed for an excuse.
- 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 what has settled in the womb may not be expelled.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. 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.