Chapter on the Establishment of Lineage

He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked:

About a man who married a virgin who had reached maturity, consummated the marriage, and found her to be a virgin. She then gave birth to a child six months after the consummation. Is the child attributed to him or not? If the husband swore on pain of divorce that the child was his own biological son, does divorce take effect or not? The child is a healthy, fully formed boy who has lived for several years. Please give us a ruling; may you be rewarded.

He—may Allah be pleased with him—answered:

Praise be to Allah. If she gave birth more than six months after he consummated the marriage with her, even by a moment, the child is attributed to him by the agreement of the imams. A similar case occurred during the time of ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb—may Allah be pleased with him.

The Companions established the possibility of a child being born after six months’ gestation by citing Allah Most High’s words:

“His gestation and weaning take thirty months,”

together with His words:

“Mothers shall breastfeed their children for two full years.”

If breastfeeding accounts for two years out of those thirty months, gestation is six months. Thus, the verse combines the minimum period of gestation with the full period of breastfeeding.

The child is attributed to him even if he has not acknowledged him as his own; how much more so when he has claimed and acknowledged him! Indeed, even if he acknowledged someone of unknown lineage, saying, “He is my son,” that person would be attributed to him by the consensus of the Muslims, provided that this was possible and no one else claimed him as his son. He has therefore been truthful in his oath and has not broken it. Allah knows best.