Lineage (nasab) and the proofs of descent

النَّسَب

Nasab, in the lexicon, is lineage; in law it is the relation between two people through a shared birth, near or far. It differs from agnation (asaba), client-right (wala'), kinship by womb (rahm), marriage-relation (musaharah), suckling kinship and the degrees of the line. It is forbidden to acknowledge a child one knows is not one's own, or to deny one who is. Lineage is established by a valid marriage where conception is possible, by a defective marriage with real intercourse, and by intercourse under a mistaken belief according to the majority, but not by fornication. Firash (the marriage bed), qiyafa (the tracker's judgement) according to the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, acknowledgement, testimony, hearsay by reputation, and the judge's ruling are the proofs. The gestation period is at least six months, and the maximum is disputed (four years, two years, five years, or nine months). The acknowledgement of lineage is governed by conditions; a man may acknowledge five kinds of relation and a woman four, according to the Hanafis. Lineage cannot be made the subject of arbitration; an oath in a lineage claim is disputed. Its effects include maintenance, inheritance, the bar of marriage, the lifting of retaliation from a father, and guardianship. Lineage once established cannot be given up, and it is ended by li'an. ^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14}