Section: If a man leaves behind a wife and a son from another woman, and the son acknowledges a brother of his, his lineage is not established because not all of the heirs acknowledged him. Do they inherit from each other? There are two views: One is that they inherit from each other because each of them acknowledges that there is no heir for him except for his companion, and there is no one contesting them. The second is that they do not inherit from each other because the lineage between them has not been established. If each of them has an heir other than his companion, he does not inherit from him because he is contested regarding the inheritance and his lineage has not been established.

Section: If lineage is established by acknowledgement, and then the acknowledger retracts, his retraction is not accepted because it is a lineage established by legal proof; thus, it does not cease by his retraction, just as if it were established by evidence (bayyina) or by the marriage bed (firash). This applies whether the person acknowledged is not a mukallaf or is a mukallaf who confirms the acknowledger. It is possible that the lineage of a mukallaf ceases by their mutual agreement to retract it, because it was established by their agreement, so it ceases by their mutual retraction, like property. The first [view] is more correct, because it is a lineage established by acknowledgement, so it is like the lineage of a minor or an insane person. It differs from property because caution is exercised for the establishment of lineage.

Section: If a woman acknowledges a child and she is not married [and has no known lineage] (37), her acknowledgement is accepted. If she is married, is her acknowledgement accepted? There are two narrations: One is that it is not accepted because it involves attributing the lineage of the child to her husband, who has not acknowledged it, or it involves bringing shame upon him by the birth of his wife's child from someone else. The second is that it is accepted because she is a person who acknowledged a child who could plausibly be hers, so it is accepted like the [acknowledgement of a] man. Ahmad said, in a narration by Ibn Mansur, regarding a woman who claimed a child: If she has brothers or known lineage, it must be established that he is her son. If she has no one challenging her, then who would stand between her and him? This is because whenever she belongs to a family, the apparent reality is that her birth would not be hidden from them; so whenever she claims a child they do not know, the apparent reality is her falsehood. It is possible that her claim (39) is accepted absolutely, because caution is exercised for lineage, so she is like a man.