952 – Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Watch her closely; if she delivers a fair-skinned child with straight hair, the child is his—her husband’s. But if she delivers one whose eyes are dark-rimmed and whose hair is curly, then the child belongs to the one who was named in the accusation.” Agreed upon (1).

Vocabulary
• abṣirūhā: scrutinize her—examine the child she bears and determine his features.
• jāʾat bihi: “she brings him”—the pronoun refers to the child who was in the womb at the time of the liʿān (mutual imprecation).
• sabṭan: possessing straight hair and a sound, well-proportioned body.
As the poet said:
“She bore him straight-boned, as though
His turban were a banner above men.”
• akḥal: having dark rims at the roots of the eyelashes, as though kohl lines the eyes.
• jaʿdan: with tightly curled, contracted hair.

Points derived from the ḥadith
1 – Hilal ibn Umayyah accused his wife of adultery with Sharik ibn Sahmāʾ. She denied it, so they performed liʿān while she was pregnant. After the mutual imprecation was completed, the Prophet ﷺ said: “Observe the woman who has undergone liʿān and the child she will bear. If she delivers a fair-skinned child with straight hair, those are the features of her husband. But if she delivers one with dark-rimmed eyes and curly hair, the resemblance is to the man she was accused with—Sharik ibn Sahmāʾ.” She did, in fact, give birth to a child of the second description, whereupon the Prophet ﷺ declared, “Had it not been for what has already passed in the Book of Allah, I would have dealt with her differently.”