Illegitimacy

Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, illegitimacy, also known as bastardy, has been the status of a child born outside marriage, such a child being known as a bastard, a love child, a natural child, or illegitimate. In Scots law, the terms natural son and natural daughter carry the same implications.

185983

Parents . Marriage . Conversion to Islam . Illegitimacy

Is a person born to non-believers and later converting to Shia Islam considered illegitimate if their parents did not have a formal marriage due to the societal norms in their community?

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 1 year ago

The Hadeeth from Imam Jafar Al-Sadiq (AS) says: Every community who differentiate between marriage and fornication, their marriage is lawful. كل قوم يعرفون النكاح من السفاح فنكاحهم جائز . (Al-Tahtheeb; 7:475).

The marriage between non Muslim parents according to their society is valid and you are not an illegitimate.

Wassalam.

181520

Children . Christianity . Illegitimacy

Does an individual, whether a child or an adult, who is born out of wedlock to non-Muslim parents, have the right to follow the Shia faith?

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 1 year ago

Yes, they can follow Shi'a Islam regardless of their parentage, ancestral religion, or age.

120981

Inheritance . Illegitimacy . Children

What are the issues to be considered, such as around inheritance or any other Islamic aspect, when raising an illegitimate child that is not yours? And how can these challenges be overcome?

Raising a child in need who is not your child is a great act of reward and it is a way to Paradise if it is done according to the teachings of Islam. As the child is not your child, there is no inheritance between you and the child, although you are free to give him in your will up to one third of what you leave, and you can gift him during your life whatever you like to gift him.

When the child becomes Baaligh, Hijab is must.

Wassalam.

117408

Daughter . Marriage . Islam . Illegitimacy . Children

I have a daughter from my previous marriage who never accepted Islam and she now has an illegitimate child. As a practicing Muslim how am I supposed to act towards this child?

You need to keep in touch with her and treat her nicely being a practicing Muslim so that she will see the great manners of Islam. You should try to invite her to Islam as and when you find a suitable chance. Her being non Muslim does not mean always that she denied Islam deliberately. She might had been a victim of ignorance or misleading propaganda.

You should do your best to give the practical evidence that Islam is the best religion.
Wassalam.

113028

Brother . Marriage . Alcohol . Illegitimacy . Friendship

What should you do if you find out that your brother is having illegitimate relations outside of marriage with a non-Muslim and that they may also be consuming alcohol with friends?

Zaid Alsalami, Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from... Answered 4 years ago

Bismihi ta'ala

The most important thing a person must do in life is be very cautious about the circle of friends he/she has, and who they associate with.

We need to be extremely picky and sensitive towards this.

You need to advice your brother about the direction he is going, and how all this will affect his spirit and religious faith. Try to show him the bad effects of these people he is associating with, and how damaging something like an illegitimate relationship will be, and also alcohol.

If your advice does not have any effect, try to ask someone he respects to intervene, inform your parents to calmly advice him, and just try your best to dissuade him. Seek advice from people around you as well, who know him.

Dua is also very important. Hopefully, he will come to his conscience and realise the wrong direction he is heading. Just never give up.

With prayers for your success.

108987

Illegitimacy . Salah (Prayers) . Marja'

What are the Islamic references that show that a person born from illegitimate union cannot lead prayers or become a Marja?

Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb, Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb has a BA in Law from Guilan University, Iran and has also undertaken Hawzah studies in Qom. He used to be a Cultural Affairs director of Ethics Group of Al-Mustafa... Answer updated 4 years ago

Salaam
There are narrations from Ahlul Bait in this regard like:

عن امیرالمؤمنین (ع) لایصلین احدکم خلف المجنون و ولدا الزنا وسائل الشیعة
مَعْرُوفٍ عَنْ أَبِی جَمِیلَةَ عَنْ سَعْدِ بْنِ طَرِیفٍ عَنِ الْأَصْبَغِ بْنِ نُبَاتَةَ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَمِیرَ الْمُؤْمِنِینَ ع یَقُولُ سِتَّةٌ لَا یَنْبَغِی أَنْ یَؤُمُّوا النَّاسَ وَلَدُ الزِّنَا وَ الْمُرْتَدُّ وَ الْأَعْرَابِیُّ بَعْدَ الْهِجْرَةِ وَ شَارِبُ الْخَمْرِ وَ الْمَحْدُودُ وَ الْأَغْلَفُ
and a narration from Imam Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqer in which he says don't pray behind 5 types of people one of which is a child out of wedlock.
Plus that is the consensus of Shia scholars on this ruling.

The word Imam means Muqtada, a leader and someone whom others follow and set an example in their works. And the Imam of the congregation is the one whom the group and the congregation set as their role model. Therefore, there should not be a defect in the position of the incumbent, although he himself has not interfered in achieving this defect. To explain that, the fact that an illegitimate child is deprived of some social and spiritual positions such as Imamate of the congregation and the authority of Taqlid, etc., which are the contents of some above mentioned narrations, is because of the nature of these positions and it does not mean deprivation of salvation on the Day of Judgment, for example, a blind person can not be in charge of some positions or a person who is very forgetful can not be a judge even if he has not committed the slightest sin in his life, having a good memory is one of the conditions of a judge. But these deprivations have nothing to do with one's felicity or unhappiness(i.e. bad end), and so is that with the illegitimate child, and our proof is that in the same narrations, the illegitimate child is placed next to the insane and the leper, etc., even though someone is not crazy or is not leper by their own will.

From a social point of view, being an illegitimate is also a kind of defect and does not lead to reputation, because on the one hand, illegitimacy is the product of a shameful act, and on the other hand, most of the illegitimate children have not shown an acceptable record throughout history, and this is certain that in holding some positions, a person should be away from the characteristics and traits that cause hatred and distance from people, even if those characteristics have been imposed on him without authority.

79569

Marriage . Illegitimacy . Marja'

Why can't a person who is born out of an illegitimate marriage become a Marja?

Allah is The Absolute Wise and He has the Full Knowledge about everything and everyone. All rules in Islam are based on the absolute Wisdom and Knowledge and Mercy of Allah which aims for the interest of man and human kind.

illegitimately born child has no fault to be punished for, and he should be saved from social criticism. This might be one of the reasons that such person should not be exposed in public as leader of prayers or leader of society ( Marja' of Taqleed).

Keeping him away from regions leadership might be also for avoiding legitimising the sinful act from which he was born and not encouraging people to commit it.

Finally, we say that Allah is The Most Just, Most Wise, Most Merciful and He Knows the full reasons, but we firmly believe that it is always for the interest of man and mankind.

Wassalam.

82469

Illegitimacy

Who is legally obligated to provide financial support to an illegitimate child whose biological father and mother married after the child was born?

Such child must be financially supported and looked after by Baitul Maal (Treasury).

Wassalam.

69364

Illegitimacy . Salat al-Jama’at . Ahl al-Bayt

Is it true that someone of illegitimate birth is not allowed to lead congregational prayers even if he is otherwise qualified to do so, and that he would not be a lover of the Ahle Bait (a)? If so, how is it fair on the person who did not commit any sin?

Islamic Shariah contains rules to organize the Muslim society in

all the dimensions starting from the personal life to the family life

to the social life and to the whole humankind relationship. Rules in

Islam do not mean insult but it means organizing the society in the

best way for the interest of everyone.

Illegitimately born child has got rules in Islam which aim to keep

him/her away from the public criticism. As the child did not commit a sin

and he/she should not pay for the sin of his/her parents.

The illegitimate child in Islam is kept away from leading the public

because that will make him a target of criticism and abuse from people

who will say that he was born from illegitimate act.

Islam also does not want to legitimise any illegitimate act. That is

why the child born from an illegitimate relationship cannot be a

leader in the community because that will encourage some people to go

for illegitimate sexual relationships.

An illegitimate child is not allowed to be Marja’ of Taqleed. He can

be a highly educated scholar but he cannot be Marja’ of Taqleed.

That also is not only for him but also for other respected persons in

the community like our respected ladies.

If a pious and highly educated female Islamic scholar becomes a

Mujtahidah, her own son or brother cannot follow her in Taqleed

because one of the conditions of Marja’ of Taqleed is to be a man.

And also for leading the Jamaat prayers, the congregation prayer, one

of the conditions is that the leader of the congregation prayer must

be a man and must be born from a legitimate marriage.

Islam does not allow us to pray behind pious ladies like our own

mothers. So that does not mean any insult to our mothers but it is part of

organisation which must be followed, and that is similar when we are not allowed to pray behind a person who was born from an illegitimate relationship.

That does not mean that we are punishing him but Allah SWT wants the

organisation of the society to go on to avoid pointing the fingers to

such persons and also a way from legitimising an illegitimate sexual

act which took place.

An illegitimate person can be a lover of the Ahlul Bayt (AS) and will

get his full reward for all his good deeds because it is very clear in

the Holy Qur’an that (لا تزر وازرة وزر أخرى) “No one will carry the burden of

the act of others”. So the child who was born from an illegitimate

relationship will never carry the burden of the sinful acts committed

by his parents. He will get the reward of his good deeds like any

other person.

In fact Islam has kept the respect of such persons to keep them away from

the public leadership and observation so that their life can go on like any other person

and they will get the reward of their good deeds like any other

person.

Wassalam.

66162

Menstruation (Haidh) . Imam Ali b. Abi Talib . Illegitimacy

Can a person be born with hatred of Imam Ali (a) or is it something that is developed out of their free will? If the latter, how does that reconcile with what we hear equating hatred of the Imam with illegitimate birth or conception during menses?

I think it is good to look at these texts with a proverbial grain of salt and in the historical context, including but not limited to a common trend of denigrating certain enemies of the Imams (A) on the grounds that they were illegitimate, as well as a heavily tribal culture where once's ancestry generally affected one's social identity and life opportunities. In the time of the later Imams, there seems to have been a particularly strong focus on one's paternal ancestry.

Infants are obviously not born with a conscious hatred of Imam Ali (A) since they have to learn first who he is, and their opinions of him are generally shaped according to what they are told. Of course, one could argue that on an existential level, we encounter Imam Ali (A) prior to birth and thereby develop some relationship. One could also argue that one is born with an inherent disposition towards or against what he stood for (justice, truth, etc). Still, one finds, in practice, many people who are not born within the context of a marriage who do have a strong love for Imam Ali, and many people historically who were born within the context of a marriage who fought him. So it is worth considering these statements in more of a historical/cultural context rather than as absolutes.

It is more difficult to comment in practice regarding the latter since most people don't know whether or not they were conceived during that time. However one can glean the general idea that what happens during conception/pregnancy can leave an imprint on the child, and so one who is siring/carrying a child should be thoughtful of that.