The rights and status of muslim children born out of wedlock

[Bubblegoose]

Someone school me and keep it short and sweet.
Cos I ain't got the time for them lengthy cut and paste jobs.
Speak you clout, go ahead.

[dhakiyya]

they have the same status as anyone else as their parents sins/mistakes are not their fault.

if the mother doesn't know who the father is, the child takes a name like Abdullah in place of the father's name (muslim children must have their father's name)

[MG]

in the eyes of islam, the illegitimate child's father is the HUSBAND of the women who committed this sin NOT the man who committed this act to make that child.

[Bubblegoose]

What if neither party were married when they did the deed?



in the eyes of islam, the illegitimate child's father is the HUSBAND of the women who committed this sin NOT the man who committed this act to make that child.

[MG]

What if neither party were married when they did the deed?

i dont know wat wopuld happen in this case

[dhakiyya]

see my post above. its not the childs fault

[CoolGhostAD]

That's a relief

[lonely_me]

The children born out of wedlock deserve all the care they need as children. They should be provided with all the requirements and elements they need to survive this life. They are not responsible for the deeds (sins) of their parents.

When it comes to the attribution of the child’s name to the father then it depends on the acceptance of the father. If he approves of it, then he/she can be named after him.

Concerning the rights of inheritance, then they get what normal kids would get from you... (I mean the father/the man...whoever! ).

[SoulAsylum]

As-salamu `alaykum.

I have a relative who has just got married to the girl of his choice. They had been seeing each other for two years. The parents knew about them and hoped nothing would come of it. The boy’s parents thought they could just take him abroad and get him married.

Only a few weeks ago, they found out the girl was pregnant and had no choice but to get the girl and boy married. My question to you is, although what they did was haram, a lot of my relatives and friends are saying because the girl was pregnant the nikah (marriage contract) wasn’t valid. Please can you shed some light on this matter? Where does the child stand in all of this?

Wa salam.

Name of Counsellor
`Abdul-Lateef Abdullah (http://www.islamonline.net/QuestionApplication/English/guestcv.asp?hMuftiID=124) Topic
Raising ChildrenAnswer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. May the peace and blessings of Allah descend on the Prophet Muhammad, his family, his Companions, and those who follow them with sincerity.

As-salamu `alaykum.

I would say that the nikah (marriage contract) is definitely valid and encouraged, given the circumstances. Muhammad ibn Adam Al-Kawthari from Darul Iftaa, Leicester, UK, expounds on the following reasons from the point of view of the Hanafi madhhab (school of jurisprudence):

There is a famous hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The child will be attributed to the husband and the adulterer will receive the stone” (Muslim, 1458).

The meaning of this hadith is that the right of paternity will always be for the person to whom the mother of the child is married. Hence, paternity will not be established with the adulterer. If the woman is unmarried, the child will only be attributed to her.

The hadith says that the adulterer will receive the stone, meaning that he is liable to be stoned as punishment and not receive the child or, as some scholars have explained, the meaning of stone here is “deprivation,” meaning he will not have the right of paternity.

Thus, in light of the above, if the child is already born before the man has married the mother, the child will, without doubt, be considered illegitimate; hence paternity will not be established with whom she had committed adultery, even if he was to marry her.

Therefore, this child born out of wedlock will not inherit from his/her mother’s husband. However, one may make a bequest of up to one third of one’s wealth for the child, so that the child is not completely deprived from the wealth of his stepfather.

One should also remember that this should not deter the man from treating his stepchild as his own child. He should take care of the child, look after the child, and treat him as his own child. Thus, the above ruling does not mean he should treat the child as a stranger. Taking good care of the child will be greatly rewarded by Allah Most High.According to the ruling if one was to marry a woman whom one had impregnated and the child was to be born six months or more after marriage, then the child would be considered legitimate. However, if the child was born prior to six months elapsing, he/she will not be considered legitimate. (See Radd Al-Muhtar and other fiqh references.), the child’s status depends on whether the child is born before or after six months following the wife and husband’s nikah. This is, of course, according to the Hanafi madhhab.

I would encourage you to ask a local scholar in your area for further clarification if you and the couple of interest follow a different school of thought.

For your further guidance, please try the following links:
◊ Marrying a Woman Who Got Pregnant Through Illicit Affairs (http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=19355)
◊ [/url]
◊ [url="http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=20406"]Rights of Children Born Out of Wedlock (http://www.islamonline.net/QuestionApplication/English/)
◊ Ask the Scholar (http://www.islamonline.net/fatwaapplication/english/browse.asp)


And Allah knows best.

www.islamonline.net (http://www.islamonline.net)

[Al-Nasser]

long time ago i read that in the Hanafi school of fiqh there is strong opinions that the love child shouldn't be an Imam........now put romance aside and let's concentrate on reality.....isn't that just right??

[dhakiyya]

long time ago i read that in the Hanafi school of fiqh there is strong opinions that the love child shouldn't be an Imam........now put romance aside and let's concentrate on reality.....isn't that just right??

I don't agree with that ruling. The illegitimate child has no control over his/her parents, and there is no blame on such a child. How can you put such a stigma on a person who has done no wrong? Allah will not punish a child for the parents sins. I respect the different schools of thought, but I think that one is wrong about that issue.

Someone who has had an illegitimate child not being an imam, well thats a totally different matter!

[Al-Nasser]

Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal agree with you too.

[CoolGhostAD]

That is good.

[Amatullah_]

Wa Allahu alim