What Happens to the Soul of a Miscarried Baby?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

What happens to the soul of a miscarried baby?

Answer

I pray you are well.

Bismillah.

A foetus is imbued with a soul after 120 days of gestation, as per the famous hadith of Bukhari and Muslim. If there is a miscarriage after this point, then the soul will be taken by the angels to wait for the Day of Judgement.

On that day, there is good news for the lady who endured the difficulty of the miscarriage. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “[I swear] by the One in whose hand is my soul, the miscarried foetus will certainly pull its mother into the Garden – if she expects a reward [for its loss]. (Ahmad)

Naturally, the father would also be given this reward given the pain he also endures. It is important to bear in the the reward Allah gives us when we endure difficulties. This alleviates the difficulty of the trial.

Embryos younger then 120 days do not yet have a soul, so the above will not apply in that situation. Rather, it is a tough test Allah sends to a person, and like all such tests, it makes one closer to Allah and leaves one with less sins and more rewards.

May Allah give us ease and wellbeing in this life and the next.
[Shaykh]Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History, he moved to Damascus in 2007, where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital, and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqida, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family