Do I Need to Offer Funeral Prayer and Burial for My Baby Who Will Not Survive?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Will I need to offer funeral prayer and burial for my baby who is stillborn after 5 months of development?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Sorry to hear of your difficult situation. May Allah Most High grant you ease and well-being.

It is not required for you to perform the Janaza prayer for your child. The prerequisite for the funeral prayer is that the child must show some signs of life after delivery. [Maydani, al-Lubab fi Sharh al-Kitab]

Despite this, you will still shroud and bury the child. [Ibid.]

Remaining Positive

In times of difficulty, try to remain positive. Reflect on the life of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace). He, too, lost more than three of his children, some of whom passed away in his hands and he cried. However, he did not lose hope and gratitude with Allah Most High, and he remained content with Allah’s decree. [Amiri, Bahjat al-Mahafil]

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.