my own self, and I did not commit adultery willingly.’ Once their mutual act of liʿān is completed, they are separated; no prescribed punishment falls on either of them, the child is affiliated to her, and they can never reunite.

If the woman later bears a child and he says, “This is not my son,” and she concurs, the child is disavowed from him and attached to her; she incurs no hadd and no liʿān is required. Some, however, have said that the child cannot be disowned except through liʿān.

Anyone who has acknowledged his child—or his wife’s pregnancy—can never thereafter repudiate it; should he try, he is flogged with the hadd for false accusation. If he knew of the pregnancy yet did not deny it and subsequently had intercourse with her, he loses the right to deny it. The same applies if, after becoming aware of it, he remains silent for the full span during which denial would have been permissible; he may not retract thereafter, and if he does he is flogged and the child remains his.

Should a man accuse his wife of adultery and then have intercourse with her, he is flogged and no liʿān is effected.

If the woman gives birth to twins and the husband acknowledges one of them while denying the other, both are ascribed to him and his denial is dismissed. If he disowns them both, a single act of liʿān suffices and they are both removed from his lineage.

If a man accuses his wife of adultery with a specific individual, and that individual demands redress, the husband is flogged on his behalf and still performs liʿān with his wife.