What is the ruling concerning a child born to a woman simultaneously serviced by two masters?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Mukātaba (Contractual Manumission)
Primary text
If a woman is serviced by two men concurrently, and she bears a child, the child is legally negated from both if it is impossible for the child to belong to either one exclusively. This impossibility arises if the birth occurs after the *istibra'a* (post-coital waiting period) from both, after four years since the last service by either, or less than six months since the last service by either. In such a case, the child belongs to neither man absolutely but is subject to the mother's status regarding manumission (it is freed if she pays the stipulated amount). If both claim to have performed the *istibra'a*, the claim of *istibra'a* is accepted from both, as the claim of *istibra'a* in a female slave is analogous to *li'an* (mutual cursing) for a free woman.
Supporting text
If the child can be attributed definitively to one of the two men alone, the ruling follows the case where paternity is established by one man, requiring the full *mahr* (dower) to be paid to the woman, and the value of half her share paid to the co-owner. If the child is not attributable to either man's preceding intercourse, consequences regarding the *mahr* depend on who performed the last act of service, whether the woman was an *umm walad* (mother of his child), or whether her contract of *kitaba* (manumission contract) was dissolved or not.