Firstly, the miscarried fetus that has not reached four months of gestation is not washed, funeral prayer is not performed for it, and it is wrapped in a piece of cloth and buried. Ibn Qudamah stated, “And we are not aware of any difference of opinion regarding this matter, except for Ibn Sirin who said: Funeral prayer should be performed for the fetus if it is known that the soul has been blown into it. The authentic statement of the truthful and trusted Prophet indicates that the soul is not blown into it until after four months, and before that, it does not have a soul, so funeral prayer is not offered for it, similar to lifeless matter and blood.” [Al-Mughni by Ibn Qudamah].
Secondly, scholars have differed concerning postpartum bleeding (nifas) of a woman in conjunction with a miscarriage. The majority view is that there is no nifas unless the miscarriage has distinct characteristics or after the soul has been blown into it. They have set a limit for this, which is one hundred and twenty days. If she miscarries something that has a complete or incomplete human form with distinguishing features, such as limbs, face, or other characteristics, she becomes in a state of nifas. During this time, she refrains from prayer and fasting until the bleeding stops. This is the opinion of the Hanafi, Shafi’i, and Hanbali schools.
The Maliki School, however, holds the opinion that the determining factor is the coagulation and accumulation of blood, whether or not the miscarried fetus has a recognizable form. Al-Dardir stated in his commentary on the Matn of Khalil: “(If) the pregnancy is composed of (blood that has coagulated), and the sign of its being a pregnancy is that if hot water is poured over it, it does not dissolve.” Thus, according to the Maliki school, nifas is proved by the presence of coagulated blood that does not dissolve when hot water is poured over it, whether it occurs before or after the insufflation of the soul into the fetus.
From our perspective, there is no nifas without a childbirth. Childbirth does not occur with a miscarriage. Therefore, for someone who experiences a miscarriage, it cannot be said that they have given birth. The postpartum bleeding that entails legal rulings is associated with childbirth. In this context, the blood that comes with a miscarriage is considered similar to the blood of istihada (non-menstrual vaginal bleeding), which a woman can become clean from. A woman experiencing istihada is allowed to recite the Quran, pray, engage in marital relations, and she is not forbidden to fast, read the Quran, touch the Quran, enter the mosque or perform tawaf. The woman experiencing istihada should try to control the flow of blood as much as possible. She should perform ablution (wudu) before each prayer time as an obligatory precaution according to the majority view, and as a recommended practice according to the Maliki School.
Fatwa by Dr. Khālid Naṣr