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Waty bi-l-shubha

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Waṭy bi-l-shubha(Arabic: وطء الشبهة) is sexual intercourse with a non-"mahram" woman under the assumption that it is lawful. For example, marrying and having intercourse with a woman who is in her waiting period ('idda), thinking that such a marriage is valid. Jurists do not consider this act as adultery, but they obligate the man to pay the woman mahr al-mithl (a normal dowry) and the observance of 'idda for her.

According to the fatwas of jurists, "waty bi-l-shubha", like marriage, causes the mother, daughter, and daughter's daughter of the woman to become mahram to the man, and likewise, the father, son, and son's son of the man to become mahram to the woman. Also, jurists hold that the parents of a child born from waty bi-l-shubha are considered the rightful biological parents, and therefore, the child inherits from them and they inherit from the child. Whichever of the man or woman was not mistaken in the matter and deliberately committed the act has committed the forbidden act of adultery, and the child is considered illegitimate (child of adultery) in relation to that person, and they do not inherit from each other.

Concept and Position

"Waty bi-l-shubha" refers to an unlawful sexual intercourse in which the person does not know that their act is forbidden.[1] In Danish-nama-yi farhang-i fiqh, this act is defined as intercourse with a non-mahram woman under the assumption of its lawfulness.[2] Waty bi-l-shubha occurs either due to a mistake in the subject—such as mistaking a woman for one's wife—or due to a mistake in the ruling;[3] for example, marrying and having intercourse with a woman in her waiting period ('idda), assuming such a marriage is valid.[4]

Although the rulings of "waty bi-l-shubha", like other jurisprudential rulings, are derived from verses of the Qur'an and hadiths, according to Ayatullah Makarim Shirazi, a Shia marja', the term waty bi-l-shubha has not appeared in the hadiths of the Infallibles (a).[5] In jurisprudence, this issue has mainly been discussed in the chapter of marriage.[6]

The topic of "waty bi-l-shubha" is addressed in Article 223 of the Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to this law, the claim of a person accused of adultery who asserts that it was a case of waty bi-l-shubha is accepted, unless there is religious evidence against them.[7]

Religious Ruling

Given the presence of ignorance in "waty bi-l-shubha", jurists do not consider the person who commits it to be sinful.[8] Nevertheless, this act has certain rulings that are discussed in jurisprudential books:

  • Non-application of the "hadd" punishment for adultery: "waty bi-l-shubha" does not carry the same ruling as adultery, as due to the mistake involved, it is not considered a "assault in sexual relations."[9] Therefore, the hadd punishment for adultery does not apply to it.[10] However, some believe that due to the perpetrator's remissness, according to certain narrations,[11] they deserve ta'zir (discretionary punishment).[12]
  • Mahr (Dowry): This act necessitates the payment of mahr al-mithl (a normal dowry) to the woman,[13] meaning a dowry proportionate to her status is paid to her.[14] However, this is the case only if both sides or just the woman make the mistake; but if the woman was aware of the prohibition, she is not entitled to any dowry.[15]
  • Maintenance (Nafaqa): In "waty bi-l-shubha", the woman is not entitled to maintenance (nafaqa);[16] however, jurists differ on the maintenance of a woman who becomes pregnant through this act.[17] For instance, al-Shaykh al-Tusi, a 5th/11th century jurist, believes that in such a case, maintenance is due for the fetus. [18] while the Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi, another Shi'a jurist, disagrees with this view.[19]
  • Idda (Waiting Period): From the perspective of Shi'a and Sunni jurisprudence, with the occurrence of "waty bi-l-shubha", the woman must observe a waiting period ('idda)[20] starting from the removal of the misunderstanding,[21] during which she cannot marry or have intercourse with any man, including her husband. The duration of the waiting period for waty bi-l-shubha is the same as the waiting period for divorce: three menstrual cycles or, alternatively, three months.[22]
  • Kinship and "Mahram" Relationship: According to Fadil Miqdad, a Twelver Shi'a jurist, most Shi'a jurists and a group of Sunni jurists believe that "waty bi-l-shubha" creates kinship relationships;[23] meaning, the woman's mother, daughter, and daughter's daughter become mahram to the man, and likewise, the man's father, son, and son's son become "mahram" to the woman.[24] However, according to the prevalent opinion, this ruling applies in the case where waty bi-l-shubha occurs before marriage with one of them; but, if it occurs after marriage, waty bi-l-shubha does not invalidate their valid marriage.[25] For example, if a man engages in waty bi-l-shubha with a woman, marrying her daughter is not permissible; but, if he marries a woman and later engages in waty bi-l-shubha with her daughter, this act does not invalidate his prior marriage with the mother.[26]

Lineage and Inheritance of the Child

According to the fatwas of jurists, the parents of a child born from "waty bi-l-shubha" (child of mistake) are those from whose sperm and ovum the child was created.[27] The author of Jawahir has claimed consensus on this matter.[28] He states that if both the man and the woman were mistaken in this case, the child belongs to both of them[29] and inherits from both of them;[30] but, if one of them was not mistaken and committed the act deliberately, the child is considered child of adultery in relation to that person and does not inherit from them.[31]

According to jurists, if a married woman engages in "waty bi-l-shubha" and becomes pregnant, and there is evidence indicating that the child does not belong to either her husband or the man with whom she had intercourse (such as if the time gap between the intercourse with one of them is more than six months), the child is attributed to the other party.[32] However, if the likelihood of the child being attributed to the husband or the man is equal, there is a difference of opinions: some attribute the child to the second intercourse,[33] some assign the child to the husband,[34] and some believe that the child will be attributed to one of the parties through drawing lots.[35]

Notes

  1. ↑ Shahīd al-Thānī, Masālik al-afhām, vol. 7, p. 302; Narāqī, Mustanad al-Shīʿa, vol. 14, p. 221; Iṣfahānī, Wasīlat al-najāt, p. 717.
  2. ↑ Shāhrūdī, Farhang-i fiqh, vol. 1, p. 150.
  3. ↑ Sabziwārī, Muhadhdhab al-aḥkām, vol. 26, p. 144.
  4. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Aḥkām-i bānuwān, p. 227.
  5. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Kitāb al-nikāḥ, vol. 2, p. 122.
  6. ↑ Shāhrūdī, Farhang-i fiqh, vol. 1, p. 151.
  7. ↑ Islamic Penal Code (Persian).
  8. ↑ Muntaẓirī, Risāla-yi Istiftāʾāt, vol. 3, p. 372.
  9. ↑ Jurjānī, Tafsīr-i Shāhī, vol. 2, p. 286.
  10. ↑ Shāhrūdī, Farhang-i fiqh, vol. 1, p. 151.
  11. ↑ Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Tafṣīl wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 28, p. 66.
  12. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Taʿzīr wa gustara-yi Ān, p. 50.
  13. ↑ Baḥrānī, al-Ḥadāʾiq al-nāḍira, vol. 23, p. 246.
  14. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Kitāb al-nikāḥ, vol. 6, p. 42.
  15. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 32, p. 379.
  16. ↑ Baḥrānī, al-Ḥadāʾiq al-nāḍira, vol. 23, p. 613.
  17. ↑ Shāhrūdī, Farhang-i fiqh, vol. 1, p. 151.
  18. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Mabsūṭ, vol. 6, p. 27.
  19. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 32, p. 340.
  20. ↑ Shahīd al-Thānī, Masālik al-afhām, vol. 7, p. 303; Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 32, p. 340; Ḥajāwī Muqaddasī, al-Iqnāʿ, vol. 2, p. 456.
  21. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Aḥkām-i bānuwān, p. 224.
  22. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 32, p. 340.
  23. ↑ Ḥillī, Kanz al-ʿirfān, vol. 2, p. 187.
  24. ↑ Shāhrūdī, Farhang-i fiqh, vol. 1, p. 151.
  25. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 29, p. 373-374.
  26. ↑ Muḥaqqiq Dāmād, Barrasī-yi fiqhī-yi ḥuqūq-i khāniwada, p. 124.
  27. ↑ Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, vol. 2, p. 225.
  28. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 29, p. 244; vol. 31, p. 248.
  29. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 31, p. 248.
  30. ↑ Qiblaʾī, Barrasī-yi aḥkām-i fiqhī wa ḥuqūqī-yi ḥaml wa janīn-i nāshī az zinā wa waṭy bi-l-shubha, p. 16.
  31. ↑ Ṭāhirī, Ḥuqūq-i madanī, vol. 5, p. 350.
  32. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 31, p. 248; Khomeinī, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, vol. 2, p. 308.
  33. ↑ Qummī, al-Ghāyat al-quṣwā, vol. 2, p. 283.
  34. ↑ Fāḍil Lankarāni, Tafṣīl al-sharīʿa, p. 516.
  35. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 31, p. 248; Mughnīya, Fiqh al-Imām al-Ṣādiq, vol. 5, p. 296.

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