If the child is subjected to an intentional injury that stops short of homicide, the matter is deferred until he attains puberty and sound judgment; once mature, he may either demand retaliation or pardon the offender.

Should a man, or a woman, acknowledge that the foundling is his or her own child, the child is affiliated to that person, for this secures the child’s benefit by establishing his lineage and brings no harm to anyone else—provided the claimant is the sole person asserting that lineage and it is biologically possible for the child to be his or hers. If several people claim the child, priority is given to the one who produces evidence. When none has proof, or their proofs are mutually contradictory, the claimants are presented to the qāfah (lineage experts who infer kinship from physical resemblance). The child is then assigned to whomever the qāfah link him to, following a ruling issued by ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) in the presence of the Companions. The qāfah establish relationships through observed similarity; a single qāʾif is sufficient, but he must be a morally upright male with a proven record of accuracy.