What is the legal consequence of Lian (Mutual Cursing) regarding the marriage bond?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Mutual Imprecation (Li'an)
Primary text
When the mutual cursing is complete, the separation between the spouses occurs without the pronouncement of a formal divorce (*talaq*) or the separation due to the death of the husband. Consequently, the wife is not entitled to maintenance (*nafaqah*) from the husband due to the nature of the dissolution.
Supporting text
The Messenger of Allah provided a means to determine paternity based on the description of the child born after the Lian. If the child was born with the description attributed to Hilal, the child belongs to Hilal. If the child was born with the description of the man accused, the child belongs to that accused man. In the case of Hilal, the child was born with the description matching the accused man, prompting the Prophet to state that without the oaths, there would have been grounds for reconciliation between the couple.