Mālik and Ahmad, according to the other report from him.

The correct view is that someone whose interpretation of the law is excusable is not morally corrupt; indeed, he incurs no sin. Ahmad had not heard that there was any disagreement on this issue, for the disagreement only emerged in his own time, not in the time of the early generations. That is why he was unaware of it.

Those who permitted “marrying one’s daughter born of illicit intercourse” argued: “She is not legally his daughter, as shown by the fact that neither inherits from the other, he is not obliged to maintain her, he does not act as her marriage guardian, and she is not automatically emancipated if he acquires ownership of her. The same applies to other legal consequences of kinship. Since she is not legally his daughter, she is not included in the verse prohibiting marriage, and thus remains included in His words:

‘Lawful to you are all beyond these.’”

The majority’s argument, however, is as follows: Allah Most High’s words,

“Forbidden to you in marriage are your mothers and your daughters,”

and the rest of the verse encompass everyone to whom these terms apply, whether literally or figuratively, and whether mutual inheritance and other legal consequences apply or only the prohibition of marriage applies. The general scope of the verse prohibiting marriage is not the same as that of the verse prescribing inheritance shares and similar verses, such as His words:

“Allah instructs you concerning your children: a male shall have a share equal to that of two females.”

This can be explained in three ways.

First: the verse prohibiting marriage encompasses one’s daughter, son’s daughter, and daughter’s daughter, just as the term “paternal aunt” encompasses the paternal aunts of one’s father, mother, and grandfather. Likewise, it encompasses one’s sister’s daughter, sister’s son’s daughter, and sister’s daughter’s daughter. Such breadth of scope does not apply to the verse prescribing inheritance shares, nor to similar verses and texts in which legal rulings are attached to kinship.