The minimum term of pregnancy

Question

Zayd’s nikah with Hinda took place on 25 Dhu al-Hijja 82 AH, and on 11 Rajab 83 AH a girl was born to Hinda. Can a girl born within such a period be regarded as Zayd’s daughter, given that only one month after the nikah Hinda’s pregnancy had become apparent, and Zayd too had denied that the pregnancy was his? The midwife who attended the girl’s birth says that the child is of a full nine months. In such a case, did Zayd’s nikah with Hinda take place or not?

Answer

A child can be born in a minimum of six months, and here more than six months have passed. The midwife’s statement that the child is of a full nine months is not a proof in the Sharia on the basis of which the child may be declared illegitimate — especially since Zayd had already had relations with his wife after the marriage and the child was born after six months had passed…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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