PARENTAGE, LEGITIMACY &

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT UNDER
ISLAM.
Done by- Priyaanka.R
Reg. no.- 20665
Student of 1st LLB
St. Josephs College of Law, Bengaluru.
 INDEX
Sl.No. Contents.
1) Introduction to Parentage, Legitimacy & Accknowledgement under Islam.

2) Establsihment of Maternity under Muslim Law

3) Establishment of Paternity under Muslime Law

4) - Special notes regarding the presumption of Legitimacy.

-Relevant provisions of Indian Evidence Act on establishment of Muslima
Law.
5) -Basic principles of Acknowledgement
- Effects of Acknowledgement

6) Related Case Laws.

7) Conclusion

8) Bibliography.
 INTRODUCTION.

Parentage in Muslim Law:

• Parentage is the relation of parents to their children. The parentage

includes maternity and paternity.
• Maternity is the legal relationship between the mother and the child.
Paternity is the legal relationship between the father and the child.
• Parentage is generally used for a legal relationship which the child has
with the parents. These legal relationships are associated with certain
rights and duties such as rights of inheritance, maintenance, and 
guardianship.
 LEGITIMACY IN MUSLIM LAW.
• A person born in lawful marriage is said to be the legitimate child of the
spouses. So the main point in case of the legitimacy of a child is the marriage
between his or her parents.
Acknowledgement in Muslim Law:
• Muslim law does not recognise the institute of adoption, which is recognised by
other systems.
• Muslim law recognises the institution of ‘IKRAS’ (acknowledgement) where the
paternity of a child, which means his legitimate decent from his father, cannot
be proved by establishing a marriage between his parents at the time of
conception of birth.
 ESTABLISHMENT OF MATERNITY
IN MUSLIM LAW.
• Under Sunni Law, the maternity of a child is established in the woman who
gives birth to the child irrespective of whether the birth was the result of a valid
marriage or adultery (Zina).
• But under Shia Law, only birth is not sufficient to establish maternity. It has to
be also proved that the birth was a result of a lawful marriage.
• So we can say under Sunni Law, an illegitimate child has his maternity in the
woman who gave birth, and the child is entitled to inherit from mother alone.
• But under Shia Law, an illegitimate child has neither maternity in the woman
who gave birth nor paternity in the father. So in Shia Law, the illegitimate child
can inherit neither from father or mother.
 ESTABLISHMENT OF PATERNITY
UNDER MUSLIM LAW.
• Paternity of a child can only be established by marriage between his or
her parents. The marriage may be valid or be irregular. But it does not
become void. Paternity is established in the husband of the mother of a
child.
• Paternity is established in a person said to be a father by proof or legal
presumption that the child was begotten by him on a woman who was at
the time of conception his lawful wife and was in good faith and
reasonably believed by him to be such or whose marriage being valid.
• An issue of void marriage has neither paternity nor maternity under Shia
Law.
 SPECIAL NOTES REGARDING THE
PRESUMPTIONS OF LEGITIMACY.

• 1. A child born within six months after the marriage: the child is
illegitimate unless the father acknowledges the child.
• 2. A child born after six months from the date of marriage is presumed
to be legitimate.
• 3. A child born after the dissolution of marriage is legitimate-
a. Under Shia Law, if born within 10 months.
b. Under Hanafi Law, if born within 2 years.
c. Under Shefai and Maliki, if born within 4 years.
 LEGITIMACY WHEN CONCLUSIVELY PRESUMED

• According to section 112 of the Indian Evidence Act, if a child is born during the
marriage or within 280 days after the dissolution of marriage, the child shall be
presumed to be the legitimate child of the spouses.
• The Evidence Act supersedes the rule of Muslim law. The question arises
whether the provision of the Indian Evidence Act supersedes the provisions of
Muslim law. Opinions are divided, but the balance of authority remains in favour
of the Indian Evidence Act.
• It laid down that a child would be legitimate if it was born:
a)Either during the continuance of a valid marriage
b)Within 280 days after its dissolution, the mother remaining unmarried.

• Section 112 in The Indian Evidence Act, 1872

• 112. Birth during marriage, conclusive proof of legitimacy.—The fact that any person was born during the continuance of a valid marriage between his mother and any man, or within two
hundred and eighty days after its dissolution, the mother remaining unmarried, shall be conclusive proof that he is the legitimate son of that man, unless it can be shown that the parties to
the marriage had no access to each other at any time when he could
 RELEVANT PROVISIONS ON
ESTABLISHMENT OF MUSLIM LAW.
• Section 112 and the Muslim Law maybe analysed separately in regard to:
1) Birth during wedlock-
Following the English law the Evidence Act adopted the time of birth as the factor of
determining legitimacy.
Minimum period of gestation was 6 months anything below that is considered illegitimate.
2) Post Divorce Birth-
-Hanafi law: Child born within 2 years from the dissolution of marriage considered legitimate.
-Shafi law: Child born anytime before expiry of 4 years from date of dissolution of marriage.
-Shia law: Denies recognition of legitimacy of child born after 9 months or atleast more
than 10 months from the date of dissolution of marriage.
The Evidence Act fixed a maximum period of gestation of 280 days.
RECENT REFORMS IN MUSLIM COUNTRIES:
Minimum period of gestation- 6 months in West Asia, North Africa.
Codes of personal law in Syria, Tunasia, Morocco states that a child born to a couple within
the first 6 months of marriage will be considered illegitimate inless acknowledged by
father.
Maximum period of gestation- 1 solar year in Egypt, Sudan etc. later adopted by even other
countries.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF
PATERNITY UNDER MUSLIM LAW.
• Express or implied Acknowledgement
• Age of the Acknowledger
• The Child of others
• Offspring of Zina
• Legal marriage between parents of the child acknowledged.
• Person acknowledged should confirm acknowledgement.
• Competency of the Acknowledger.
Relevant Case laws:

1)Mohammed Allahdad Khan vs. Mohammed Ismail Khan (1887)

Justice Mehmood held that where marriage cannot be proved by direct evidence and no
legitimacy be established, Muslim law prescribes a means whereby the marriage and
legitimacy may be established as a matter of substantive law, and that is acknowledgement
of paternity.
Acknowledgement under Muslim law is a rule of Substantive Law and not a rule of
evidence. It means it is not a presumption under the Evidence Act.
It confers the status of sonship and rights to succeed. A child whose illegitimacy is proved
by reason of the union between the parents not being lawful; such a child cannot be proved
by acknowledgement.

2)Muhammad Ali Khan vs. Muhammad Ibrahim Khan 1929 PC

The father made the acknowledgement of the child in a casual manner. He never intended
that his acknowledgement should have serious effects. It was held by the Privy Council that
the act of the father is not sufficient to confer the status of legitimacy.
 CONCLUSION.
• There have been Pre-Islamic & Post-Islamic Reforms in the fields of Parentage,
Legitimacy & Acknowledgement of Parentage. As time progresses we may see
newer reforms and legislations.

• Bibliography:
- Writing law.com by:Ankur(law graduate)
- Blog.Ipleaders
- Tahir Mahmood’s PDF on the Evidence Act & Section 112.