What they mentioned is not valid; for there may not be any qafa (experts) available, or the man might not confess to what is attributed to him, or he may be absent or dead, and thus the child would not be negated. If he says: 'You did not give birth to it, rather you found it or borrowed it,' and she replies: 'Rather, it is my child from you,' then the statement of the woman is not accepted except with evidence (bayyina). This is the view of al-Shafi'i, Abu Thawr, and the People of Opinion (Ashab al-Ra'y); because it is possible to provide evidence for birth, and the original state is the absence of it, so her claim is not accepted without evidence, just like a debt. The Qadi said: Similarly, her claim to having given birth is not accepted if he made the divorce of his wife conditional upon it, nor is the claim of a slave-woman accepted so that she may thereby become an Umm al-Walad (mother of a child by her master), yet her statement regarding it is accepted so that she may complete her 'idda (waiting period) by it. Based on this, the child is not joined to him unless she provides evidence, which is a respectable woman testifying to her giving birth to his child. Once the birth for him is established, the lineage is joined to him, because it was born on his bed, and the child belongs to the bed. The Qadi mentioned in another place that the statement is the statement of the woman, based on the words of Allah Almighty: "And it is not lawful for them to hide what Allah has created in their wombs" (Surah al-Baqarah: 228). The prohibition of concealing it is proof of the acceptance of her statement regarding it, and because it is something coming out of the woman through which her 'idda terminates, so her statement is accepted regarding it, just like menstruation, [and because it is a ruling related to childbirth, so her statement is accepted regarding it, just like menstruation]. Based on this, the lineage is joined to him, so does he have the right to negate it through li'an? There are two views: One of them is that he does not have the right to negate it; because his denial of her having given birth to it is an admission that she did not give birth to it from adultery, so his denial of that is not accepted, because it is a contradiction of himself. The second is that he has the right to negate it; because he is an accuser of his wife and a denier of her child, so he has the right to negate it through li'an, like anyone else.
Section: Whoever has a wife who gives birth to a child that cannot possibly be from him in the marriage, the lineage is not joined to him, and he does not need to negate it; because he knows it is not from him, so it is not joined to him, just like if she brought it forth immediately after his marriage to her. Such as if she brings it forth in less than six months since he married her, it is not joined to him, according to the view of everyone whom
(13) In the Original, (A), and (B): "waladtih". (14) In the Original and (A): "iltaqtatih". (15) In the Original, (A), and (B): "ista'artih". (16) Surah al-Baqarah: 228. (17) Omitted from (B). It is a report of an opinion. (18) In the Original: "nafyiha". (19) In (B) and (M): "min hayn".
