her shroud is mandatory upon him, like the master of a slave or a father. Our view is that maintenance and clothing are mandatory in marriage for the sake of the possibility of sexual enjoyment; this is why they lapse due to recalcitrance (nushuz) or absolute divorce (baynunah). Such enjoyment ceases upon death, so it is analogous to what occurs if the relationship is severed during life. Furthermore, she is separated from him by death, making her similar to a stranger, and thus distinct from the slave, whose maintenance is mandatory by virtue of ownership, not by utilization. This is why the maintenance and the sadaqat al-fitr of a runaway slave are mandatory. [As for the child, his maintenance is mandatory due to kinship, and this is not invalidated by death; by evidence that the master and the father] are more entitled to bury him and manage his affairs. Once this is established, if she has no wealth, the responsibility falls upon those relatives whose duty it is to provide her maintenance; if there are none, then it is from the Public Treasury (Bayt al-Mal), like one who has no husband.

375 - Issue: He said: "The miscarried fetus (siqt), if it was carried for more than four months, is to be washed and the funeral prayer is to be performed over it."

The siqt is the child a woman delivers dead, or before full term. If it emerges alive and cries out (istahalla), then it is washed and the funeral prayer is performed over it [without dispute]. Ibn al-Mundhir said: The scholars are in consensus that if a child's life is known and it cries out, the prayer is performed over it. If it does not cry out, Ahmad said: If it has reached four months, it is washed and the funeral prayer is performed over it. This is the view of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, Ibn Sirin, and Ishaq. Ibn 'Umar performed the funeral prayer over a son of his daughter who was born dead. Al-Hasan, Ibrahim, al-Hakam, Hammad, Malik, al-Awza'i, and the scholars of opinion (As-hab al-Ra'y) said: The prayer is not performed over it until it cries out. There are two opinions for al-Shafi'i, mirroring the two schools of thought, due to what was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),