Miscarriage of a foetus and the rulings related to the mother and child: Ibn Bāz and Ibn Uthaimeen.
Question: I was pregnant – then during the third month and a week, I miscarried. I don’t know which stage the foetus was in. Some people told me: “You should give the foetus a name, and sacrifice an animal for it (‘aqeeqah).” I did not know the correct ruling at the time – and I did nothing of what they suggested. So was the naming an obligation in the state mentioned, and likewise the sacrifice? Shaikhul-Islām Abdul-Azeez Ibn Bāz (رحمه الله) answered: If the foetus miscarries before four months (i.e. before 120 days), then it is not given a name nor is an ‘aqeeqah carried out. The ‘aqeeqah and naming is for the foetus that is miscarried in the fifth month or thereafter, (i.e. after 120 days) and this is after the soul is blown into it – because at this stage it is considered a person, which carries the rulings of a person. So [in this case] an animal is sacrificed and the child is named. As for a foetus that is miscarried in the fourth month ...