Husband Disowning His Wife’s Child
Question
If a husband is certain about his wife’s infidelity and that she has got pregnant because of committing adultery, is it permissible for him to disown the child she is carrying in her womb, or should he keep quiet about the matter ? ( Sayed )
Answer
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Thanks for your question, and we implore Allah to guide us all to the best and to reward us abundantly for whatever good deeds we do for His sake.
Islam considers parentage extremely important because of the rights and duties that depend upon it. According to Islam, it is impermissible for a person to disown himself from his father; it is even called “disbelief” in the sense that it shares the same repulsiveness and hideousness of disbelief. Similarly, Islam does not permit the husband to disown his wife’s child except in these two cases:
1. When the husband is certain of his wife’s adultery in a phase of purification during which he has not had sexual intercourse with her, then he abstains from having sex with her until she gives birth. In such case, the husband must disown the child so as not to add to his lineage a child that is not his.
2. When he is quite sure about his assumption that the child is not his but his assumption has not reached the degree of complete certainty.
As for the cases of doubt and uncertainty, it is impermissible to disown the child.
In this regard, the eminent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi states the following:
Islam does not allow a Muslim to ascribe to himself a child who is not his own, nor a Muslim to disown himself from a confirmed lineage, nor a father to disown his child without right. That is why scholars say, “It is impermissible for a man to disavow his child, unless he sees his wife committing adultery in a phase of purification during which he has not had sexual intercourse with her, and then he abstains from having sexual intercourse with her until she gives birth to a child after six months or more.” In such a case he is permitted, or rather must, disown the child, for fear that recognizing the child as his might entail other rulings such as
This child may inherit without deserving any inheritance.
The child may disinherit rightful heirs.
The child may see the `awrah (the body parts that are forbidden to be exposed) of women who are lawful for him to marry. So he will regard the wife of his foster father as his real mother whom he might kiss and hug while she is not his mother. He will also consider the daughters of this man as his sisters while they are not related to him at all, and the sisters of this man as his aunts while, in reality, they are not. The same applies if the child is a girl; she will consider a non-mahram man her father, his sons as brothers, his brothers as uncles, etc.
For the above reasons, scholars say that if a husband is certain about his wife’s infidelity, he must disown her child. In some other instances they say that if the husband has a strong assumption that the child is not his and his assumption is close to certainty, such as when a husband sees his wife committing adultery in a phase of purification in which he had sexual intercourse with her and then she gives birth to a child that resembles the adulterer. Another similar case of strong assumption of the husband's part is when the husband is sterile and his sterility is certain.
In the first case, he must disown the child, while in the second he is permitted to do so.
Concerning the same issue, the following was mentioned in the book Matalib An-Nuha Sharh Ghayat Al-Muntaha:
The husband must disown the child in these two cases:
If he sees her committing adultery in a phase of purification in which he has not had sexual intercourse with her and then she gives birth to a child that resembles the adulterer, then he is to accuse her of committing adultery and disown the child through li`an (public imprecation) because, in such case, the husband is certain that the child belongs to the adulterer. Unless the husband disowns the child, the child would be his and would consequently inherit from him and his relatives, and so would they [inherit from the child]. This child would also see the husband’s daughters, sisters, and their likes [without hijab], which is impermissible. Thus, the child has to be disowned because of all such consequences. Furthermore, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, “Any woman who brings to her family one who does not belong to it has nothing to do with Allah (i.e., expects no mercy from Allah), and Allah will not bring her into His Paradise. Allah the Exalted will veil Himself from any man who disowns his child when he looks at him, and disgrace him in the presence of all creatures, first and last” (Abu Dawud).
If the husband saw his wife committing adultery in a phase of purification in which he had sexual intercourse with her and he had a strong reason [to believe] that the child belongs to the adulterer because of the strong resemblance between them or if the husband is sterile, he is allowed to disown this child. The resemblance is a proof that the child is the outcome of the adulterer’s fluid, that is, after the confirmation of adultery. In such case, strong assumption replaces certainty (vol. 6, p. 198).
In any other circumstances, it is impermissible to disown the child of one’s wife, for it entails the child’s loss. On the other hand, it is also impermissible to adopt a child as one’s own without right, because it is a dangerous forgery and it is the adoption prohibited by Allah, His Messenger, and all the scholars of Islam.
