Janin (the unborn child)

الجنين

Janin in the language is the child in the womb. In fiqh it names what forms in the womb. The Kuwaiti encyclopedia sets out its effect on the waiting period (iddah) of a pregnant woman, on inheritance and on gifts and bequests made for it, the rule for an assault on the unborn that causes miscarriage (a ghurra, which the source gives as one-twentieth of the blood-money, according to the majority), and how a stillborn child is washed, shrouded, prayed over and buried, with the rules depending on whether it was born alive, moved, or was a miscarriage of less than four months. 1 2 3 4 5

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Overview

Janin in the language is the child in the womb; in fiqh it names what forms there. 1

Effect on the waiting period and inheritance

A divorced pregnant woman's waiting period ends with delivery; a widow's is disputed and detailed in the encyclopedia. The unborn can affect inheritance in certain cases, and its sex or number is left open for the rules of inheritance. 2 3

Assault, washing and burial

If an assault on the womb causes a dead birth, the majority hold a ghurra is due, one-twentieth of the blood-money. A child who cries out or moves is washed and prayed over; one under four months is wrapped in a cloth and buried. 4 5

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Based on
Muwatta 2481· Muwatta 2482· Muwatta 2483· Muwatta 2484· Muwatta 2485

People and things also explored

Muwatta, Book of blood-money (uqul)· Malik ibn Anas· Fleshy growth in the wife's womb and the right to annul (afal)· The clot stage of the embryo (alaqa) and the rulings on its loss· Pregnant woman (hamil) in fiqh· The death and burial of Fatima bint Muhammad· The dosing of the Prophet during his illness· Muwatta 2481

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.6576
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.6579
  3. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.6580
  4. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.6581
  5. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.6582
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Janin (the unborn child)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/janin/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Related

Muwatta, Book of blood-money (uqul)

The Book of blood-money (uqul) in the Muwatta, volume 2, PDF pages 417 to 449 (PDF numbering), with 115 numbered reports (2458–2572) in twenty-four babs.