Under what condition does the offspring of a man's female slave become legally affiliated to him?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Mutual Imprecation (Li'an)
Primary text
If the slave woman bears a child, affiliation of the child (*nisbah*) occurs if the master admits to having intercourse with her. If he does not admit intercourse, the child's lineage is not affixed to him, and he is not required to negate it. If he admits to intercourse, she becomes legally considered his domestic bond (*firash*). The child is affiliated to the master if born within the duration of possible gestation from the time of coitus. This is the position held by Malik and Al-Shafi'i. The basis for this ruling is the Prophet's statement concerning Sa'd and 'Abd ibn Zam'ah: 'The child belongs to the bed (*al-waladu lil-firash*), and the adulterer gets nothing but stone (rejection).' This hadith is agreed upon (*Muttafaq 'alayh*). Furthermore, the physical act of intercourse necessitates the prohibition of affinity (*tahrim al-musaharah*), and since it is permissible, it establishes the status of *firash*, similar to marriage.
Supporting text
Al-Thawri and Abu Hanifa hold that she only becomes *firash* if the master admits to the child's birth. If he admits to the child, she becomes *firash*, and subsequent children become affiliated to him. They argue that if she became *firash* merely by the act of coitus, she would become *firash* by mere permissibility, similar to a wife.