If a child is born out of wedlock, the child is attributed to the mother. Does the father have no responsibility for that child?

- Does the child have rights over his father?

Dear Brother / Sister,

It is unthinkable for the child to be without a lineage from his mother’s side. The woman who gave birth to him is considered his mother. The result does not change whether the birth is legitimate or illegitimate in terms of attachment to the mother.

In Islam, there is no legal measure of value of a child who is born out of fornication. That is, neither does he inherit from his father, nor is he considered his real child. As a matter of fact, our Prophet (pbuh) states the following in a hadith:

“The child belongs to the bed; there is only stone for the adulterer.” (Bukhari, Faraid, 18, 28, Hudud, 23, Ahkam, 29; Muslim, Rada’, 36, 37)

The meaning of the first sentence of the hadith is as follows: The child born to a woman is considered to belong to her husband, unless proven otherwise because she owns the bed. If there is no marriage, sexual intercourse is considered fornication and the child to be born cannot be attributed to such a man because fornication is not suitable to be a reason for proving lineage.

The meaning of the second sentence is as follows: A person who commits adultery does not own the child to be born due to that illegitimate relationship. There is only stone for him; that is, he will be empty-handed. In no way is he treated as “the father of the child”. (See Nawawi, the explanation of the hadith in question).

As it is understood from the hadith above, the illegitimate father has no right related to the child born from the illegitimate relationship. Apart from having no right, he does not have any legal responsibility. It is a separate issue for him to feel responsible for the child and to help the child.

On the other hand, the child to be born from adultery has no blame or sin. As a matter of fact, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

“The illegitimate child has nothing from the sin of his mother or father.” (Hakim, Mustadrak; Bayhaqi, Sunan X/59; Munawi V/372)

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