Does the husband's unilateral *li'an* to negate a child prevent his inheritance from the wife if she dies subsequently?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Mutual Imprecation (Li'an)
Primary text
If the husband pronounces *li'an* regarding a child and denies paternity, but the wife does not perform her *li'an*, the child is not negated, and the ruling of *li'an* is not established. The difference between negating the child and inheritance is that negating the child establishes that the child was never his by lineage, whereas the wife was legally his until the *li'an* severed the marriage, akin to divorce. Since she died before the factor that severs the marriage (the complete *li'an*) came into existence, she died in the marriage bond, necessitating inheritance.
Supporting text
If the husband unilaterally denies paternity of a child who is already deceased and the wife dies, it is argued analogously that he should not inherit from the wife, but this analogy is rejected because the unilateral denial of paternity does not establish the ruling of *li'an*.