1356 - Issue: He said: "And if she gives birth to a child that could be from either of them, the qafah (experts in physiognomy) are to be consulted, and the child shall be affiliated to whomever they attribute it, and her waiting period from him ends, and she observes the waiting period for the other."

The summary of this is that if she is pregnant, her waiting period from him ends upon the delivery of her pregnancy, due to His saying, the Exalted: "And for those who are pregnant, their term is until they give birth" (2). Then we examine: if it is possible that the child is from the first husband but not the second—which is that she delivers the child in less than six months from having intercourse with the second husband, and within four years or less from the separation of the first—then the child is affiliated with the first husband, her waiting period from him ends with the birth, and then she observes a waiting period of three menstrual cycles from the second. If it is possible that the child is from the second husband only, and not the first—which is that she delivers the child between six months and four years from having intercourse with the second husband, and more than four years since she became separated from the first—then the child is affiliated with the second and not the first; her waiting period from the second ends with it, and then she completes the waiting period of the first. The waiting period of the second is given priority here over the waiting period of the first, because it is not permissible for the pregnancy to be from one man and the waiting period from another. If it is possible that the child is from either of them—which is that she delivers the child six months or more from having intercourse with the second, and four years or less from her separation from the first—the qafah are to be consulted. If they affiliate the child to the first, it is affiliated to him, just as if it were possible for it to be from him and not the second. If they affiliate it to the second, it is affiliated to him, and the ruling is as if it were possible for it to be from the second and not the first. If his case remains ambiguous to the qafah, or if there are no qafah, it is mandatory for her to observe a waiting period of three menstrual cycles after the delivery; because if it is from the first, she has fulfilled what was incumbent upon her from the second's waiting period, and if it is from the second, she must complete the first's waiting period, so that the obligation is fulfilled with certainty. As for the child, Abu Bakr said: His lineage is lost.