How is maternity determined when two women each claim one child, an son and a daughter, asserting only the son belongs to them?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Foundlings
Primary text
When two women each claim to have given birth to a son while denying maternity of a daughter, one potential ruling is to present both women and both children to the *qāifah* (one skilled in discerning lineage/physical resemblance). Each child is then attributed to the woman whom the *qāifah* assigns the child to, as if there were no other child involved. This ruling is supported by analogy with cases where no secondary children exist to complicate the matter.
Supporting text
The second potential ruling involves presenting the milk of the two women to physicians and experts. The milk of a male child is said to differ in nature and weight from the milk of a female child; specifically, the son's milk is often considered heavier, and the daughter's lighter. The children are assigned based on which woman's milk matches the characteristics associated with the respective gender's milk. If a *qāifah* is unavailable, the attribute of the milk alone is considered.