Abu Hanifa. Al-Shafi'i said: It is not binding upon him, because he merely responded to his intent. If he says, "May Allah grant you one like him," this is not an admission, nor is it included in it. We respond that this is customarily a response of one who is pleased, so it is an admission, just like saying "amin" to the supplication. If he remains silent, it is an admission. Abu Bakr mentioned this, because silence is a settlement indicating consent in the case of a virgin and in other instances, so it is even more applicable here. In every instance where the child is binding upon him, he may not deny the child after that, according to the opinion of a group of scholars, among whom are al-Sha'bi, al-Nakha'i, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, Malik, al-Shafi'i, Ibn al-Mundhir, and the scholars of opinion (ashab al-ra'y). Al-Hasan said: He may perform the li'an (imprecation) to deny the child as long as the mother is with him, for the child belongs to her, even if he had admitted to it. The position held by the majority is more appropriate, for he has admitted to the child, and thus he no longer possesses the right to deny it, just as if the mother were separated from him; furthermore, he has acknowledged a right that is upon him, so his denial is not accepted, as is the case with all other rights.

Issue 1334: He said: "If his wife gives birth to a child, and he says: 'She did not commit adultery, but this child is not from me,' then the child is considered his in legal status, and no hadd (prescribed) punishment is imposed upon him for her."

In summary, if the wife gives birth and her husband says: "This child is not from me," or says: "This is not my child," there is no hadd punishment upon him, because this is not, on the surface, an accusation of adultery (qadhf), due to the possibility that he means it is from another husband, or from intercourse by mistake (shubha), or otherwise. However, he is questioned; if he says: "She committed adultery, and gave birth to this from adultery," this is an accusation of adultery (qadhf) by which the li'an is established. If he says: "I meant that it does not resemble me in physical form or character," and she says: "Rather, you intended to accuse me of adultery," his statement is accepted because he knows his intent better, especially if he explicitly stated: "She did not..."