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The question

What is the story behind the Hadith: "The child is for the bed (husband), and for the fornicator is the stone (punishment)"?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

The summary of the answer:

The Hadith presents different stories and narrations, the most important of which is the story of Utbah ibn Abi Waqqas, who entrusted his brother Sa'd with taking possession of the son of Zam'ah's slave woman. Sa'd and 'Abd ibn Zam'ah disputed over the child before the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. The Prophet ruled in favor of 'Abd and said, "The child belongs to the bed, and for the fornicator is the stone [rejection/disappointment]," and he ordered Sawdah to veil herself from him due to his resemblance to Utbah. In another narration, the Prophet nullified the qasamah (oath-taking) for the child of the bed, which was known in the pre-Islamic era, and affirmed the principle of "The child belongs to the bed, and for the fornicator is the stone," while he affirmed the qasamah for blood (homicide cases).

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy