❀ Determining Paternity of a Child Born to a Shared Slave Woman Through Drawing Lots ❀
When three men jointly own a slave woman and each of them engages in intercourse with her within the same menstrual purity (ṭuhr), and subsequently a child is born, and all three claim paternity, then lots should be drawn among them. The one in whose name the lot is drawn will be recognized as the father of the child. He is then required to pay two-thirds of the blood money (diyah) to the other two men.
Hazrat Zayd ibn Arqam (رضي الله عنه) narrates:
While Hazrat Ali (رضي الله عنه) was in Yemen, three men were brought before him who had all engaged in intercourse with the same slave woman during one ṭuhr.
Hazrat Ali (رضي الله عنه) asked two of them:
“Do you concede the child to this third man?”
They replied: “No.”
He posed the same question to each pair among them, but none would concede paternity to the third.
So, Hazrat Ali (رضي الله عنه) drew lots among them, and the child was attributed to the one in whose name the lot came out.
He also imposed upon him two-thirds of the blood money, to be given to the remaining two.
The narrator states:
“This matter was later mentioned to the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم), and he laughed so much that his molar teeth became visible.”
References:
[Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 1987 – Book of Divorce, Chapter: Regarding Drawing Lots When There is a Dispute in Paternity]
[Abū Dāwūd: 2270]
[Ahmad: 4/374]
[An-Nasā’ī: 6/182]
[Ḥumaydī: 785]
[Ibn Mājah: 2348]
According to the majority of scholars including Imam Mālik, Imam Shāfiʿī, and Imam Aḥmad, drawing lots is permissible in such cases.
Reference:
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/381]
The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) acknowledged the use of drawing lots in various Shar‘i matters.
For example, a man freed six slaves, and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) divided them into three groups, then drew lots, and freed only those in whose names the lots were drawn.
References:
[Muslim: 1668 – Book of Faith, Chapter: The One Who Frees His Share in a Slave]
[Abū Dāwūd: 3958]
[At-Tirmidhī: 1364]
[Ibn Mājah: 2345]
[An-Nasā’ī: 4/64]
✿ Ruling on Paternity in the Case of a Shared Slave Woman
When three men jointly own a slave woman and each of them engages in intercourse with her within the same menstrual purity (ṭuhr), and subsequently a child is born, and all three claim paternity, then lots should be drawn among them. The one in whose name the lot is drawn will be recognized as the father of the child. He is then required to pay two-thirds of the blood money (diyah) to the other two men.
✔ Incident Reported from Hazrat Ali (رضي الله عنه)
Hazrat Zayd ibn Arqam (رضي الله عنه) narrates:
While Hazrat Ali (رضي الله عنه) was in Yemen, three men were brought before him who had all engaged in intercourse with the same slave woman during one ṭuhr.
Hazrat Ali (رضي الله عنه) asked two of them:
“Do you concede the child to this third man?”
They replied: “No.”
He posed the same question to each pair among them, but none would concede paternity to the third.
So, Hazrat Ali (رضي الله عنه) drew lots among them, and the child was attributed to the one in whose name the lot came out.
He also imposed upon him two-thirds of the blood money, to be given to the remaining two.
The narrator states:
“This matter was later mentioned to the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم), and he laughed so much that his molar teeth became visible.”
References:
[Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 1987 – Book of Divorce, Chapter: Regarding Drawing Lots When There is a Dispute in Paternity]
[Abū Dāwūd: 2270]
[Ahmad: 4/374]
[An-Nasā’ī: 6/182]
[Ḥumaydī: 785]
[Ibn Mājah: 2348]
❀ Legitimacy of Drawing Lots (قرعہ) in Islamic Law
According to the majority of scholars including Imam Mālik, Imam Shāfiʿī, and Imam Aḥmad, drawing lots is permissible in such cases.
Reference:
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/381]
✿ Prophet Muhammad’s (ﷺ) Use of Drawing Lots in Other Matters
The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) acknowledged the use of drawing lots in various Shar‘i matters.
For example, a man freed six slaves, and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) divided them into three groups, then drew lots, and freed only those in whose names the lots were drawn.
References:
[Muslim: 1668 – Book of Faith, Chapter: The One Who Frees His Share in a Slave]
[Abū Dāwūd: 3958]
[At-Tirmidhī: 1364]
[Ibn Mājah: 2345]
[An-Nasā’ī: 4/64]
