What is the ruling for denying someone's lineage to their tribe or attributing non-Arab lineage to an Arab?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Ḥudūd (Prescribed Penalties)
Primary text
Denying a man's lineage to his tribe does not necessitate the prescribed punishment (Hadd) because the accusation of adultery is not definitively implied. This is analogous to stating that a non-Arab person is an Arab, or telling an Arab person that he is Nabati or Persian. For such statements, only discretionary punishment (Ta'zir) is obligatory. This is because the statement might mean the person speaks or behaves like a Nabati, not necessarily slandering his lineage regarding fornication.
Supporting text
A second narration attributed to Ahmad mandates the Hadd, similar to the case of denying paternity. However, the former view is considered stronger and is held by Malik and al-Shafi'i because the statement is open to many interpretations other than slander, thus preventing the ruling from being definitively fixed upon Qadhf.