What is the legal status of the offspring if the sexual act occurred under a perceived ambiguity (shubhah) where the perpetrator believed the slave was free?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Endowments (Awqaf) and Donations

Book 27 · Issue 6 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

If the act occurred under a perceived ambiguity, the child is free. If the perpetrator was a slave, his monetary value (qimah) is due because it was within the realm of possibility that he would have been a slave, but the belief in freedom prevented his enslavement. This value is used to purchase a slave for the endowment. The value is assessed on the day the child is born alive, as valuation prior to that is impossible.