Children: Rights of a child born by
an illegitimate relationship
Q99 :May I ask the responsibilities of a man who
has a child born to him by an illegitimate relationship? What are the
rights of the child? Does the man have to marry the mother? If so, does
she need her father’s permission to marry him? What about financial
support to the child and how far is the father responsible to provide
Islamic education to the child?
A99 : When a Muslim netmits a sin, particularly
one which is punishable by a specific punishment, he should not
publicize what he has done. Publicity is an additional sin. If he makes
a confession of what he had done, the punishment prescribed by Allah
must be enforced. To make such a confession is permissible, but the
Prophet teaches us that a person who netmits a sin should not lift the
mantle with which Allah has covered it. Therefore, a person who netmits
adultery should not publicize that. If he has a child born to him
illegitimately and he marries the mother of the child, no one will ask
him about the legitimacy of the child. The relationship between an
illegitimate child and his father is broken. That means that neither
the child nor the father have any rights or duties toward each other.
The two are like strangers. This means that the child does not have the
right to be supported by the father, but equally the father cannot
require the child to be dutiful to him. However, the family
relationship between the child and his mother is perfectly established
and should be observed. The child has all the rights which any child
claims from his mother, and so does she from him. He inherits her and
she inherits him in the normal way. He must be dutiful to her and she
has to support him. You ask whether a man should or must marry the
mother of his illegitimate child. There is an important rule included
in Verse 3 of Surah 24 which states: “An adulterous man may only marry
an adulterous woman or one who associates partners with Allah; while an
adulterous woman may only be married to an adulterous man or one who
associates partners with Allah. This is forbidden to believers.”
Therefore, one may not marry a partner who practices adultery or takes
it lightly. If a man or a woman is known to do so, it is not
permissible for a Muslim to marry him or her. It is only when such a
person repents of his or her past conduct and resolves not to do it
again that he or she may be married to a Muslim. In the light of the
foregoing, if the man has repented of his sin, he may marry the woman
if she has also repented. If both feel that they have done wrong and
they want to live a proper life, obeying Allah and his messenger, they
may get married and the man is renetmended to help the woman keep her
error a secret and bring up the child normally. The marriage of such a
woman is the same as the marriage of any other woman. In Islam, she
must have her father or guardian present at her marriage. It is
needless to say that every child is entitled to be given proper Islamic
education. How else could the father expect the child to avoid the sin
which he himself has been guilty of?
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )