Muslim views on abortion are shaped by Hadith (the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Islamic prophet Muhammad as transmitted through chains of narrators), as well as by the opinions of legal and religious scholars and commentators.
The Quran does not directly address intentional abortion, leaving greater discretion to the laws of individual countries.
Thus, "most Malikis do not permit abortion at any point, seeing God's hand as actively forming the fetus at every stage of development.
"[3] The Sahih al-Bukhari (book of Hadith) writes that the fetus is believed to become a living soul after 120 days' gestation.
The leader of the Iranian Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, declared that shari'a forbids abortion without any reason "even at the earliest possible stage.
American academic Azizah Y. al-Hibri claims that "the majority of Muslim scholars permit abortion, although they differ on the stage of fetal development beyond which it becomes prohibited.
"[6] According to Sherman Jackson, "while abortion, even during the first trimester, is forbidden according to a minority of jurists, it is not held to be an offense for which there are criminal or even civil sanctions.
], abortion is permitted under certain circumstances besides preserving the mother's life, such as safeguarding her mental health, cases of fetal impairment, incest or rape, and social or economic reasons.
Abortion before this point was permissible according to Islamic law scholar Abed Awad, [1][10]but after this period, it was considered a termination of life.
Still, several Hadith dealt with situations where a pregnant woman lost an unborn child, often by being struck in the belly.
Allah's Messenger gave a verdict regarding an aborted fetus of a woman from Bani Lihyan that the killer (of the fetus) should give a male or female slave (as a Diya) but the woman who was required to give the slave, died, so Allah's Messenger gave the verdict that her inheritance be given to her children and her husband and the Diya be paid by her 'Asaba.
Al-Mughirah b. Shu'bah said: I was present with the Messenger of Allah when he gave judgement that a male or female slave should testify you.
So the Messenger of Allah gave judgement that the bloodwit for the unborn child should be a male or a female slave of the best quality and then she should be killed.
[18][better source needed] Socio-economic factors or the presence of fetal anomalies are also viewed as justifiable reasons to abort in many schools.
[10] However, Islamic jurists in all schools state that abortion is permissible even after the ensoulment stage of a fetus if the mother's life is in danger.
He further said that this was the decree of God and that no one should find the problem in this scenario, even if it is inevitable that both the mother and child would die, and no one else would be responsible for their death.
As with other Shiite scholars, Ayatollah Khomeini declared that "Termination of pregnancy even at the earliest possible stage under normal circumstances without any reason is not allowed" and that "The shari'a does not permit the abortion of a fetus.
Sayyid al-Sabiq, author of Fiqh al-Sunnah, has summarized the views of the classical jurists in this regard in the following words: Abortion is not allowed after four months have passed since conception because at that time it is akin to taking a life, an act that entails penalty in this world and in the Hereafter.
[32] When the pregnancy is unplanned and therefore unwanted, as in the case of rape, the parents, [have to/should, as adoption is unlawful] abort the foetus and thus prevent the disgrace that awaits both mother and child.
In 1991, the Grand Mufti of Palestine, Ekrima Sa'id Sabri, took a different position than mainstream Muslim scholars.
[32] Some Sunni Muslim scholars argue that abortion is permitted if the newborn might be sick in some way that would make its care exceptionally difficult for the parents (e.g., deformities, mental handicaps).
[6][32][need quotation to verify] Widely quoted is a resolution of the Saudi-led jurisprudence council of Mekkah Al Mukaramah (the Muslim World League) passing a fatwa in its 12th session in February 1990.
This allowed abortion if the fetus was grossly malformed with an untreatable severe condition proved by medical investigations and decided upon by a committee formed by competent, trustworthy physicians, provided that the parents request abortion and the fetus is less than 120 days computed from the moment of conception.
Bahrain, a politically and socially conservative Muslim state, is the 12th among these countries to permit unrestricted access to abortion.