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The Beginning of Life

Reviewing old juridicial writings, one feels that the prevailing concepts about the beginning of life were erroneous, and have been superceded by new facts which are amongst the fruits of advances in science and technology. Whereas juridicial rulings based on the text of the Quran or well authenticated hadith are usually ultimate, other rulings are put forwards by jurists based on the available data at a certain time. Such verdicts are technically said to revolve around their reasoning. If new knowledge or new situations supervene, then the reasoning might lead to a different conclusion and a previous ruling may be changed for a new one. Since the jurists of old times had their views on the beginning of life which no doubt were pertinent to the question of abortion, we would like to throw the light of modern knowledge on this matter before proceding to review the stand of various jurists on abortion. The definition of the beginning of life has of late become a hot ethical topic, not only in relation to abortion but also concerning the early embryos that remain in surplus in the procedure of in vitro fertilization, and whether it is permissible to use them as research and experimentation material and until what age.

Variopus treatises on medical ethics exhibit   aspectrum of definitions for the beginning of life.  Fertilization, nidation, taking shape, quickening, ensoulment have all been adoptyed by various authors probably influenced by their convictions concerning the subjects we alluded to.  Setting personal convictions or idiosyncracies aside, it seems to us that the phase of life of an individual qualifiying to be considered its beginning, should combine ALL of the following criteria: (1) It should be a clear and well defined event that can actually be pointed at to be called the beginning of life.

(2)  It should exhibit that cardinal feature of beginning life viz "growth."  (3)  If this growth is not interrupted, it will naturally lead up to the subsequent stages of life as we know them: fetus, neonate, child, adolescent, adult, old...until death.  (4)  It contains the genetic bag that is characteristic of the human race at large and also of a unique particular individual of whom no other human being is a perfect copy, since eternity and   until eternity.  (5)  It is not preceded by another phase which combines all the preceding characteristics from 1 to 4.

Applying these criteria, life begins with the fusion of a spermatozoan with an ovum to form the zygote, endowed with forty six chromosomes, half maternal and half paternal. Neither sperm nor unfertilized ovum fulfil the criteria although they are alive. Subsequent stages do not qualify because they are preceded by the zygote that fulfils all criteria