another man’s lawful sexual partner, scholars hold two views on the matter. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The child belongs to the man whose lawful bed the woman shares; the man who commits unlawful intercourse has no claim.”

He thus assigned the child to the man whose lawful bed she shares, not to the man who commits unlawful intercourse. If the woman does not share any man’s lawful bed, the hadith does not cover that case. ‘Umar attributed children born during the pre-Islamic period to their fathers. This is not the place to discuss this issue at length.

The second issue is that marriage to her is not lawful until she repents. This is what the Quran, the Sunnah, and sound reasoning indicate. The well-known evidence here is the verse in Sūrat al-Nūr, in which Allah Most High says:

“A man who commits unlawful sexual intercourse marries only a woman who does likewise or an idolatress; and a woman who commits unlawful sexual intercourse is married only by a man who does likewise or an idolater. This is forbidden to the believers.”

The Sunan collections also contain the hadith of Abū Marthad al-Ghanawī concerning ‘Anāq. Those who did not apply this verse offered an alternative interpretation or claimed that it had been abrogated.

As for their interpretation, they said that marriage here means sexual intercourse. The unsoundness of this becomes apparent with even a little reflection.

First, wherever the word “marriage” occurs in the Quran, it necessarily refers to the marriage contract, even if sexual intercourse is also included in its meaning. Nowhere in Allah’s Book does it refer solely to sexual intercourse.

Second, the verse was revealed specifically because the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked for a ruling on marrying a woman who committed unlawful sexual intercourse. How, then, could the very occasion of its revelation fall outside the scope of its wording?

Third, saying, “A man who commits unlawful sexual intercourse has intercourse only with a woman who does likewise,” or, “A woman who commits unlawful sexual intercourse has intercourse only with a man who does likewise,” is like saying, “An eater eats only food, and food is eaten only by