disqualification as a witness. If she becomes pregnant and dies before giving birth, and the seller had intercourse with her during that same period of purity, the seller bears the loss. This applies whether she dies less than six months after the purchaser had intercourse with her or later, provided it remains within the period during which the child’s paternity may be attributed to the seller. If the seller had not had intercourse with her during that period of purity, the purchaser bears the loss.

Section

If she survives and gives birth, the delivery must occur either before six months have elapsed or thereafter. If it occurs before six months, and the seller acknowledges having had intercourse with her during that period of purity, the child is his and the woman becomes his umm walad (an enslaved woman who has borne her master a child), whether the child is miscarried or carried to term, alive or dead. If, however, the seller denies having had intercourse with her during that period of purity, the child belongs to the enslaved woman, with no paternity established. The purchaser may choose either to keep her or to return her, since this constitutes a defect in her. This applies when she delivers a fully formed child, alive or dead, that could not plausibly be the purchaser’s. If, however, she miscarries a fetus that could plausibly be his, it is attributed to him, and she becomes his umm walad.

If she gives birth after six months or more—or, according to Asbagh’s report from Ibn al-Qāsim, less by the shortfall resulting from reckoning by lunar months—and the seller acknowledges having had intercourse with her during that period of purity, there are two possibilities: either she delivers the child alive, or she delivers it dead or miscarries it. If the child is alive, experts in determining lineage are summoned. Whichever of the two men they identify as the father, the child is attributed to him, and the woman becomes his umm walad. This applies when neither man claims the child. If both claim it, the woman is deemed emancipated through both men, and the purchaser recovers half the price from the seller.

If the child is dead or miscarried, there is disagreement. Asbagh related from Ibn al-Qāsim that it is attributed to the purchaser and that the woman becomes his umm walad. Yahyā ibn Saʿīd said in al-Mudawwana: “She is emancipated through both men.” The more evident view is that the child should be attributed to the seller and the woman should become his umm walad. If, however, the seller denies having had intercourse with her, the woman becomes the purchaser’s umm walad, and her child is attributed to him.

It has also been said that the child belongs to the first man and that the woman becomes his umm walad. Thus, if she delivers the child alive more than six months later, no experts in determining lineage are summoned, because the first man’s basis for paternity is valid, whereas the second’s is invalid. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The child belongs to the lawful bed, and the adulterer has no claim.”