Back to search

Is it permissible to attribute a child born of fornication to her biological father if the husband who registered her in his name agrees to it? And is the father sinful for denying the child's lineage for fear of scandal and the ruin of his home?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The child of zina (fornication/adultery) is attributed to his mother and is not affiliated with the fornicator/adulterer, nor does he have any relation to him. His lineage is not attributed to the fornicator/adulterer, even if the latter claims him. It is permissible to use ma'areedh (ambiguous statements) to deny committing zina, such as saying: "I did not commit zina with her," intending that this applies after repentance. It is also permissible to deny the lineage of this daughter because she is not considered a legitimate daughter in sharia. Marriage to a woman pregnant from zina is a matter of scholarly disagreement, and the pregnancy that occurred before marriage is not attributed to the husband.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy