Is it permissible, Islamically speaking, to conduct a DNA test to prove the paternity of a child born less than six months into a marriage, given suspicions of the wife's infidelity, and taking into account the principle of "the child belongs to the marriage bed" and the stance of Sunni jurists on this matter?
Islamic prioritizes safeguarding against adultery, protecting the honor of believing men and women, and prohibiting false accusation (qadhf). A child is attributed to the marital bed unless the husband disavows him through li'an (oath of condemnation). If the husband ascertains his wife's adultery and strongly believes, based on strong circumstantial evidence, that the child is not his, he may rely on medical analysis (DNA) as a piece of evidence, with the emphasis that the test must be accurate and tamper-proof, and performed before the li'an. If evidence is available, he must disavow the child through li'an, which becomes obligatory for him if he is certain of her adultery or strongly believes it based on strong circumstantial evidence.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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