What is the ruling if both parties present evidence regarding the duration the fetus lived?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Blood-Money (Diyyāt)
Primary text
If each party presents evidence supporting their claim, the perpetrator's evidence is preferred because it carries additional knowledge. If it is established that the fetus lived for a period, and she claims it remained in pain until death while he denies it, his statement prevails because the presumption is the absence of continued pain. If both present evidence, hers is preferred because it affirms the continued pain, which is a presumed state.
Supporting text
The testimony of a single woman is accepted regarding the fetus making sounds of life, its miscarriage, its subsequent pain, and the continuation of the mother's pain, because these matters are typically only known to women who witness childbirth and the condition of the mother and infant.