One of the legal principles in Islamic jurisprudence is the rule of "al-Farash." This rule is well-known and accepted by Muslims. Stay with Saad News for more.
What is the rule of "al-Farash"?
The rule of "al-Farash" is one of the well-known legal principles in Islamic jurisprudence, especially in the areas of "Nikah" (marriage contract) and "Inheritance," and it is accepted by Muslims. The basis of this rule can be traced back to a narration from the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who stated: "A child born to a married woman belongs to her husband." According to the rule of al-Farash, when a marital relationship exists and, in some cases, if an extramarital affair occurs and the possibility exists for the child to be legally attributed to the husband, the child is considered to belong to him. The possibility of attributing the child to the husband is a necessary condition for applying this rule. However, Sunni scholars consider the "legal" marital relationship as the basis, meaning that a husband, due to the marriage contract, has the right to be intimate with his wife. According to this view, even if the husband has not yet had sexual relations with his wife and a child is born, the child is still attributed to him.
In other words, according to the Shia perspective, the actual marital relationship (physical intimacy) is the determining factor for attribution, while in the Sunni view, the legal marriage (nikah) alone is sufficient. Therefore, from a Shia jurisprudential viewpoint, if there has been penetration or any form of transfer of the husband's semen to the wife's womb, the child can be attributed to the husband. Otherwise, a mere contract of marriage is not sufficient to attribute the child to the husband.
In cases of doubt regarding whether a child belongs to the lawful husband or if it was born as a result of an extramarital affair, it is necessary to rely on certain knowledge of the truth. For example, if the child could be attributed to either the lawful husband or another man with whom the wife may have had an affair, the rule of al-Farash suggests that the child should be attributed to the lawful husband, as the notion of "sexual relations through suspicion" (known as "Wati’ bi-shubha") is also respected in Islamic law. Some past jurists believed that in such cases of uncertainty, the matter should be resolved through drawing lots.
However, in this modern age, where scientific tests can determine parentage, such methods are no longer necessary. If there is still doubt about whether the child belongs to the lawful husband, the rule of al-Farash applies, provided that the child could be linked to the husband through a reasonable period after sexual intercourse or semen emission.
Additionally, cases like "sexual relations through suspicion" are not exceptions to the rule, as such relations are respected, and the child born from them holds all the legal rights and status of a legitimate child.
Regarding the nature of the rule of al-Farash, some scholars distinguish between an "emara" (indication) and an "asl" (principle). An emara is an indication that points to the truth, whereas an asl determines the duty in a situation of doubt. The rule of al-Farash is considered both an emara and an asl: in cases of doubt about a child's parentage, the rule serves as an emara indicating that the child is attributed to the husband, but if scientific evidence later proves otherwise, the rule no longer applies.
