What is the ruling regarding two men sharing sexual intercourse (*watu'*) with one woman in a single period of purity, resulting in a child, if they kill the child before establishing paternity?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Wounds
Primary text
If two men jointly engage in sexual intercourse with a woman during one pure period, resulting in a child that could potentially be from either of them, and they kill the child before attributing paternity to one, no retribution (*qisas*) is incumbent upon them. If both deny the child's lineage, it is not negated by their statement. If only one denies the lineage, it is not negated by his denial, because the lineage is established through the marital bed (*al-firash*), and it is not negated except through *li'an* (mutual imprecation).
Supporting text
This situation differs from the previous case (where paternity was claimed) in two respects: first, if one claimant in the previous case retracts, lineage is established for the other, which does not occur here. Second, in the previous case, lineage is established by confession (*i'tiraf*), so it can be nullified by denial (*jahd*); whereas here, lineage is established by joint sexual intercourse (*ishtirak fi al-watu'*) and thus cannot be negated by denial. The position of Al-Shafi'i in this matter aligns with what has been stated.