If both a husband and another man engage in intercourse with the wife during a single period of purity, and she bears a child possible from either man, to whom does the lineage belong?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Mutual Imprecation (Li'an)
Primary text
The lineage belongs to the husband because the child belongs to the bed (*al-firash*), and it is possible that the child is from him. If the husband claims the child is from the other man, some jurists state that *qifah* (lineage testing by experts) is performed with both men. If the *qifah* attributes it to the other man, it belongs to him, and he cannot deny paternity without an oath. If it is attributed to the husband, it belongs to him, and in the sounder of two narrations, he cannot deny paternity through *li'an*.
Supporting text
In a second narration, the husband has the right to use *li'an* to deny paternity. If *qifah* attributes the child to both men, the lineage belongs to both, and the man who performed the intercourse cannot deny paternity from himself. Whether the husband can deny paternity via *li'an* is subject to two narrations.