Lineage of the child born from couple having relations after divorce

Q: If a husband and wife divorce, do not marry anyone else, and after the waiting period (iddah) they mistakenly engage in a relationship that results in a child, then later repent and separate, can the man establish the child's lineage (nasab) through acknowledgment? What if the child's birth occurs 13 months after the divorce date?

A: If they had relations after the iddat period had ended, then this relations is haraam and it is considered as zina. They both should sincerely repent and make tawba for committing this major sin. 

Since the child was born out of wedlock, the child will be regarded as an illegitimate child and thus the child will not be attributed to the biological father. Instead, the child will be attributed to the mother.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

 

Answered by:

Mufti Zakaria Makada

Checked & Approved:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)