Short answer
It depends on the stage and the facts. Before 120 days, many Hanafi muftis allow abortion when reliable specialists confirm a severe, untreatable fetal condition or a serious danger to the mother. After 120 days, a fetal abnormality is not an excuse. Ending a pregnancy to save the mother's life is allowed by many contemporary muftis as the lesser harm.
Before ensoulment at 120 days, a severe danger to the mother, or a severe abnormality confirmed by trustworthy specialists, is a valid excuse according to many Deobandi muftis. After 120 days a fetus is not aborted for disability. Ending the pregnancy to save the mother's life is accepted by many contemporary Hanafi muftis as the lesser of two harms, though classical texts forbid harming a living fetus.
Other madhhabs
- Maliki
- Ending a pregnancy is forbidden from conception in the relied-upon view, so a fetal abnormality is generally not accepted as an excuse at any stage.
Explanation
These are some of the hardest moments a family can face. What follows is the principle. The decision itself should be made with a mufti and with the reports of qualified specialists. A disability in itself is not a reason to end a life Allah has created: people with disabilities have full dignity, and some conditions seen on a scan turn out to be milder than first feared.
Before 120 days. The Hanafi texts allow early abortion only for an excuse. Many Deobandi muftis accept as an excuse a condition that will not allow the child to survive, or one that will cause extreme suffering, when it is confirmed by more than one qualified specialist. They also accept a grave threat to the mother's health. Conditions that a child can live with, even with disability, are generally not accepted.
After 120 days. The soul is present, so a fetal abnormality is not a reason to end the pregnancy. When the mother's own life is in real danger, classical Hanafi texts say a living fetus may not be harmed to save her, while many contemporary muftis and fiqh councils allow it on the principle of preventing the greater harm, since the mother's life is established and her death would often mean the loss of both. Delivering the baby early by induction or caesarean to save the mother, when the baby may survive, is not abortion at all.
If you lose a baby, or carry a pregnancy with a hard diagnosis, your patience is not wasted. The Prophet ﷺ said that a Muslim who loses young children will be admitted to Paradise by Allah's mercy toward them. See also does Islam allow abortion for the general ruling.
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 17:70
۞ وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ وَحَمَلْنَٰهُمْ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَٰهُم مِّنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَٰتِ وَفَضَّلْنَٰهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍۢ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًۭا ﴿٧٠﴾
And We have certainly honored the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference.
Every human being has dignity, including a child with a disability.
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:286
لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا ٱكْتَسَبَتْ ۗ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَآ إِصْرًۭا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦ ۖ وَٱعْفُ عَنَّا وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَٱرْحَمْنَآ ۚ أَنتَ مَوْلَىٰنَا فَٱنصُرْنَا عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ ﴿٢٨٦﴾
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people."
The Shariah weighs real hardship and danger, which is why serious threats to the mother can change the ruling.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3208
Sahih... ثم يبعث الله ملكا فيؤمر بأربع كلمات ...
"Then Allah sends an angel who is commanded with four things, and then the soul is breathed into him."
Ensoulment after the third stage of forty days is why 120 days is the dividing line.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1248
Sahih... ما من الناس من مسلم يتوفى له ثلاث لم يبلغوا الحنث ...
"No Muslim loses three children who had not reached puberty except that Allah admits him to Paradise by His mercy toward them."
Comfort and reward for parents who lose young children.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Nikah, Bab Nikah al-Raqiq, on ending a pregnancy. Early abortion is allowed only for an excuse.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Salah, Bab Salat al-Janazah, on a pregnant woman and her unborn child. The classical text that a living fetus is not cut out to save the mother.
- Resolutions of the Islamic Fiqh Council (Muslim World League), Resolution on aborting a malformed fetus. Allows abortion for a severe, untreatable condition only before 120 days, and after that only when the mother's life is in danger.
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.