and liʿān applies between any two Muslim spouses, whether they are both morally upright or openly sinful, for in our doctrine it consists of solemn oaths, not witness testimony.
A Christian wife may likewise pronounce liʿān against her Muslim husband in the part of her church that she venerates, using exactly the same wording employed by a Muslim wife. If the husband completes his side of the liʿān while she refuses, the pregnancy is disavowed from him, yet she remains his wife as before.
If a man accuses his slave-wife or his dhimmī wife of adultery, claiming that he actually witnessed the act, no ḥadd or liʿān is incurred—unless he fears that one of them may be pregnant while they are still his wives; if he does fear pregnancy, he may invoke liʿān with them. Some scholars, however, have held that he should be disciplined (taʿzīr) as a corrective measure whenever he slanders either of them.
There is no liʿān between a man and his own slave-girl, nor between him and an umm walad (a slave-concubine who has borne him a child). It has been said that the child of a slave-girl can be disavowed only by a single oath, not by the full liʿān procedure; others maintained that if he wishes to deny the child of an umm walad he must perform liʿān. The first view is the established opinion of Mālik and the sounder position.
According to Mālik, liʿān becomes obligatory between two free Muslim spouses in only two circumstances: (1) the husband has observed a period of womb-verification (istibrāʾ) during which no intercourse occurred, a pregnancy then appears, and he denies it—in this case he may proceed to liʿān immediately without waiting for the birth; or (2) he actually sees her commit fornication, can describe the act with the precision required of formal witnesses, and thereafter refrains from intercourse with her. On account of either of these two causes, or both together, liʿān is required in Mālik’s settled teaching, and the minimum period of womb-verification is one menstrual cycle.
There is, however, a report from Mālik that a free Muslim man may institute liʿān against a free Muslim wife on the basis of a mere verbal accusation, and this is also the opinion of most jurists; still, the former view is the authoritative ruling within his school.
If the husband denies her pregnancy without claiming to have performed womb-verification, Mālik has two positions: according to one, he may proceed to liʿān; according to the other, he receives the ḥadd for slander, the child is ascribed to him, and no liʿān is performed. Likewise, if he performs liʿān after witnessing her adultery and she later gives birth, Mālik’s statements differ as to whether the child is attributed to him or excluded.
Liʿān between a slave husband and a free wife is conducted in the same manner as between two free spouses.
If a man contracts marriage with a woman but has not yet consummated it, and then a pregnancy appears while she claims