If a Man Has an Illegitimate Daughter Does the Girl Have To Observe the Hijab in Front of Him

Answered by: Alimah Sofia Mirza

Question:

If a man has an illegitimate daughter does the girl have to observe the hijab in front of him, are they both mahram for each other?  Can they be in seclusion together? Can the father support his illegitimate daughter both financially and socially? 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

The illegitimate child will not be attributed to the biological father and will be attributed to the mother; however, she will not be allowed to marry him because they are still associated ¹and hence, she will not have to observe Hijab in front of him and they can meet in seclusion. The father will not be obliged to support the child since they are not attributed to one another, and the child will not inherit from the father.²

Only Allah knows best

Written by Alimah Sofia Mirza

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

1 Maariful Quran, Maktabah Darul Uloom Karachi, Vol 2, Pg. 377.

2 Fatawa Darul Ulum Zakariyyah, Vol 8, Pg.8