Revisiting the Shari’ah Ruling on Induced Abortion: An Assessment of the Awareness of Muslim Woman

Abstract

This study reviews the Shari’ah ruling on induced abortion via-a-vis the awareness of the Muslim women of the rules. All the four notable schools of Islamic law unanimously agree that induced abortion is ab initio forbidden in Shari’ah except in the situation of a threat to maternal health. Nevertheless, there appears to be a minor divergence of opinions on the stages of the pregnancy when abortion is impermissible. There is also unanimous opinion that induced abortion attracts the penalty of expiation by the emancipation of a female or male slave, or five camels, or the payment of the value and cost to the parent. The study adopts a combined method of  Shari’ah legal approach and empirical approach which includes the use of survey and questionnaire for the collection of data and the use of frequency for the analysis. The  finding shows that although, the majority of Muslims women are aware that Islam discourages induced abortion, they lack awareness of the Shari’ah rule on its penalty.
Keywords: Abortion, Shari’ah-Rules, Awareness of Muslim Woman