Can a Father Denied Paternity by Imprecation?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

What would happen if a father denied paternity by lian, even he knows that the children belong to him?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I hope you are well, amin. 

Since, both of you are married, the lineage is established between you and the husband, even if one denies. 

Imprecation (li’an) cannot take place. One of the conditions is that it has to take place in an Islamic country in a court. It will not be valid and affected in anyway in a non-Muslim country. [Sarakhsi, Al-Muhit al-Burhani]

I would like to advise you take the matter to an authoritative local scholar or scholarly body where they provide a mediation service for family disputes.

I pray this helps in your question.

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.

He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’an in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.

He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.

He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.