Pregnancy Issues and Islam
O mankind! If you are in doubt about the Resurrection, then verily, We have created you (i.e. Adam) from dust, then from a Nutfah (mixed drops of male and female sexual discharge, i.e. the offspring of Adam), then from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood) then from a little lump of flesh – some formed and some unformed (as in the case of miscarriage) – that We may make (it) clear to you (i.e. to show you Our Power and Ability to do what We will). And We cause whom We will to remain in the wombs for a appointed term, then We bring you out as infants, (1) then (give you growth) that you may reach your age of full strength. And among you there is he who dies (young), and among you there is he who is brought back to the miserable old age, so that he knows nothing after having known. And you see the earth barren, but when We send down water (rain) on it, it is stirred (to life), and it swells and puts forth every lovely kind (of growth). [Surah Al-Hajj, 22:5]
(1) Narrated ‘Abdullah (ra) Allah’s Messenger (pbuh), the true and truly inspired, said: “(As regards your creation) every one of you is collected in the womb of his mother for the first forty days, and then he becomes a clot for another forty days, and then a piece of flesh for another forty days. Then Allah sends an angel to write four words: He writes his deeds, time of his death, means of his livelihood, and whether he will be wretched or blessed (in the Hereafter). Then the soul is breathed into his body. So a man may do deeds characteristic of the people of the (Hell) Fire, so much so that there is only the distance of a cubit between him and it, and then what has been written (by the angel) surpasses; and so he starts doing deeds characteristic of the people of Paradise and enters Paradise. Similarly, a person may do deeds characteristic of the people of Paradise, so much so that there is only the distance of a cubit between him and it, and then what has been written (by the angel) surpasses, and he starts doing deeds of the people of the (Hell) Fire and enters the (Hell) Fire.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 3332)
Pregnancy Issues in Islam
When researching this topic, information from an Islamic perspective was suprisingly difficult to find. Especially when it came issues related to miscarriage, stillbirths, infertility etc. These are not topics that most people openly discuss and are obviously very sensitive issues.
I have listed some useful links on the web at the bottom of this post. I also asked various sheikhs, consulted various du’a books and most importantly, the Qur’an and Sunnah. With my extremely limited knowledge, I have listed below my findings. I hope it will be useful to people, inshaAllah.
When I bought my wife a subscription to Sisters magazine, what a coincidence that issue 4 (the first printed issue) featured several excellent articles on the topic, including the following:
- ‘Barren but blessed: After infertility, embracing motherhood of a different kind’
- ‘Muslimahs and Miscarriage: Exploring a painful subject with advice and hope’
- ‘The mothers of Bayt ul Hamd: The lessons in losing a child’
Prayers/Supplications from Qur’an & Sunnah:
Check out the references (see details of two pocket-sized books at the end of this post) and du’as below for what to read before you start trying and during the time you are trying for a baby:
NOTE: the prayers and acts of worship are about spiritual healing which can also have a profound effect on physical healing too. These can be done in addition to any medical treatment/consultation.
- Surah Al-A’raf (7:189). Prophet Adam’s (as) offspring: “If You give us a Sâlih (good in every aspect) child, we shall indeed be among the grateful.” (transliteration: tba)
- Surah Al-Imran (3:38). Prophet Zakariyya’s (as) prayer: “Lord, from Your grace grant me virtuous offspring: You hear every Prayer” (transliteration: Rabbi habli milla dunka zurriyathan, tayyibathan, innaka samiuddu’a)
- Surah As-Saffat (37:100). Prophet Ibrahim’s (as) prayer: “Lord, grant me a righteous son” (transliteration: Rabbi habli minasswaliheen)
- Surah Al-Anbiya (21:89). Prophet Zakariyya’s (as) prayer: “My Lord, do not leave me childless, though You are the best of heirs” ( transliteration: Rabbi la tazarni, fardawwa antha khairul waaritheen)
- Surah Maryam (19)
And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree: she cried (in her anguish): “Ah! would that I had died before this! Would that I had been a thing forgotten and out of sight!” But (a voice) cried to her from beneath the (palm-free): “Grieve not! for thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee; “And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree: it will let fall fresh ripe dates upon thee. ” So eat and drink and cool (thine) eye. And if thou dost see any man say `I have vowed a fast to (Allah) Most Gracious and this day will I enter into no talk with any human being.’ “ (Surah Maryam:23-26)
Miscarriage:
- Surah Ar-Ra’d (13:8). “God knows what every female bears and how much their wombs shrink or swell – everything has its measure with Him”
- Ar-Ruqiya (remedy by recitation of invocations over a patient) e.g. in the case of repeat miscarriages and infertility.
In addition to the above Qur’anic references, there are many things we can do to ask Allah for help and expedite our du’as:
- Allah’s Names & Atrributes – choose qualities that fit your needs and recite them frequently, e.g. Al-Bariul Musawwiru – “The Shaper out of naught, The Fashioner”
- Study tafseer and translation of the meaning of the Qur’an
- Praying 5 daily salaat on time
- Giving Charity (sadaqa)
- Voluntary Fasting
- Tahajjud (night prayer)
- Durood (sending salaat and salam on the Prophet, saws)
- Going on Umrah/Hajj
- Abstaining from haraam and major sins.
- PATIENCE (sabr) and REPENTANCE (istighfar).
IMPORTANT: Avoid: any kind of ‘taweez/tabeez’, talismans, amulets, etc. and only go to a qualified and genuine Raqi for advice on ruqiya.
Don’t Ever Lose Hope
If you are trying for a baby, like everything else you do, put your complete trust in Allah, as He also tells us in the Qur’an, in the very next verse of Surah al-Hajj, “That is because Allah: He is the Truth, and it is He Who gives life to the dead, and it is He Who is Able to do all things”. [22:6]
Reward of Jannah – From “Paradise and Hell”, Sheikh Umar S. al-Ashqar’s chapter on “The Delights of the People of Paradise – The wishes of the People of Paradise”, p294:
Another will wish for a child and Allah (swt), will grant him his wish immediately, and the child will be conceived and born in a hour. Tirmidhi, Ahmad and Ibn Hibaan reported with a saheeh isnaad from Abu Sa’eed that the Prophet (pbuh) said:
“That the believer wish for a child in Paradise, it will be conceived and born and grow to the desired age in an instant” (Saheeh al-Jaami, 6/5. hadith no. 6525).
Dear brother/sister, if you are facing any of the issues mentioned in this post, I know it is so difficult, no words can explain how you feel and what you are going through… family, friends, colleagues, all having children. Although you are genuinely happy for them, it is extremely difficult, as you are reminded everytime you hear someone’s good news or see them, you are reminded yet again of what you don’t have. I tell you, inshaAllah when good news will come, you will never take it for granted.
Take comfort in the fact that Allah will reward you for your patience, your continued struggle. You’ll always be a better parent, as you’d be a better person through continuous self-development through salaat and other acts of ibaadah. You would be an excellent example and role model for your kids, inshaAllah.
References:
- Fortress of the Muslim (Invocations from the Qur’an & Sunnah), Darussalam
- Invocations from the Qur’an and Sunnah (followed by Ar-Ruqiya), Dar Al-Salam
Recommended links on the web: (one or two of the following links brings up pop-ups which I have no control over, you can close/ignore them and continue with the articles).
