What is the ruling if the master acknowledges paternity without claiming prior intercourse with either slave?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Acknowledgment of Rights
Primary text
If the master does not acknowledge prior intercourse with either slave, his acknowledgment of paternity for a child of unknown lineage is valid, establishing the child's lineage. The master is then required to specify the circumstances of conception. If he states he required the mother to bear a child while she was his property (*istawlada* in his possession), the child is of free origin, owes no allegiance (*wala'*), and the mother becomes an *umm walad* (concubine mother).
Supporting text
If he states it occurred during a marriage (*nikah*), the child owes allegiance (*wala'*) to him, and the mother becomes a slave because she conceived while affiliated with a chattel slave. If he states it occurred through *shubhah* (doubtful connection), the child is of free origin, and the mother is a slave because she conceived while affiliated outside of ownership. If the other slave claims she was the one he impregnated, his word is taken with an oath, as the presumption is against impregnation, similar to if she claimed it without his prior acknowledgment.