Fatwas Regarding Women
In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Questions Related to Injurious Crimes
Question: A woman was breast feeding her child in the bed. She
then left that child to look after other children. She stayed with the
other children until they slept. She also was exhausted and slept with
them. When she woke, she found that the first baby cried a great deal and
was being affected by the crying. He was taken to the hospital and stayed
there a number of days. He then died because of that. The question is:
Does that mother have to make an expiation? If so, what is it?
Response: If the events were as described in the question, there is no expiation upon the mother of the child. This is because she did not do anything that caused the child's death.
Shaikh ibn Baz
She Was Unaware of Her Young Child and
This Caused the Child to "Kill Herself"
Question: A woman had a two year old daughter. She sat with her
at a gathering which had containers of coffee and tea. The child began
to play and the mother was looking in a different direction from the child
in order to wash the cups. Then, all of a sudden, the little girl got to
the coffee thermos, held it and spilled the cover over herself. The coffee
was very hot. When it spilled over the little girl, some of the coffee
got to her internal organs. After twenty four hours, the small girl died.
The woman asks: Is here any expiation upon her? What is the expiation?
Response: The questioner knows best the complete circumstances and events leading up to this incident. If she feels with preponderance of thought that she was negligent in leaving the baby until what happened, the mother is then the cause of that act and she must make the expiation. The expiation is to free a slave. If she is not able to, she must fast for two months consecutively.
The Standing Committee