‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqās and ‘Abd ibn Zam‘ah disputed over (the lineage of) a boy. Sa‘d said: "O Messenger of Allah, this is the son of my brother ‘Utbah ibn Abi Waqqās. He entrusted him to me saying that he was his own son. Just look at him and see how he resembles him." ‘Abd ibn Zam‘ah said: "O Messenger of Allah, he is my brother, as he was born on the bed of my father from his slave girl." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) looked at the boy and saw that he clearly resembled ‘Utbah. Thereupon, he said: "He is yours, O ‘Abd ibn Zam‘ah. The child belongs to the owner of the bed, and the stone is for the one who commits illegal sexual intercourse. O Sawdah, cover yourself from him." So, that boy never saw Sawdah uncovered.
Reported by Muslim (No. 1457a), Al-Bukhari (No. 2053, 2218, 2421, 2533, 2745, 4303, 6749, 6765), Abu Dawud (No. 2273), An-Nasa’i (No. 3484, 3487), Ibn Majah (No. 2004), Malik (No. 1424), Ahmad (No. 22957, 23827, 24464, 24808, 24899) and Ad-Darimi (No. 2139).
In the pre-Islamic era of ignorance, they used to impose taxes upon the slave girls, which they earned from practicing immorality, then they would attribute the child to the man who committed adultery with the slave girl if he claimed him. So ‘Utbah ibn Abi Waqqās had unlawful sexual intercourse with a slave girl belonging to Zam‘ah ibn al-Aswad, and he entrusted his brother Sa‘d to attribute the child to his lineage (‘Utbah's lineage). After the Conquest of Makkah, Sa‘d saw the boy and recognized him by his resemblance to his brother. So, he wanted to attribute him to his brother's lineage. On that, Sa‘d and ‘Abd ibn Zam‘ah disputed over the boy. Sa‘d supported his claim by the fact that his brother admitted that the boy was his child, and that there was a resemblance between them. Whereas ‘Abd ibn Zam‘ah said that he was his brother, born from the slave girl of his father, for his father was the master of the slave girl who gave birth to the boy, therefore he is the legitimate owner of the bed. Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) looked at the boy and saw in him a clear resemblance to ‘Utbah. Yet, he ruled that the child belonged to Zam‘ah; saying that the child belongs to the owner of the bed in which he was born, and that the one who commits unlawful sexual intercourse gets nothing but failure and loss, for he has no link with the child. That is because, in principle, the child is to be attributed to the slave girl's owner who is entitled to have sexual intercourse with rightfully. However, when he saw the boys resemblance to ‘Utbah, he was cautious to let the boy look freely at his sister Sawdah bint Zam‘ah, on the basis that they were siblings. So, he ordered her to cover hereself from him as a precautionary measure. Hence, resemblance and supplementary proofs are not considered valid in the presence of owner of the bed.
Explanation in Arabic
كانوا في الجاهلية يضربون على الإماء ضرائب يكتسبنها من فجورهن، ويلحقون الولد بالزاني إذا ادعاه، فزنا عتبة بن أبي وقاص بأمة لزمعة بن الأسود، فجاءت بغلام، فأوصى عتبة إلى أخيه سعد بأن يلحق هذا الغلام بنسبه، فلمَّا جاء فتح مكة، ورأى سعد الغلام، عرفه بشبهه بأخيه، فأراد استلحاقه، أي أن يلحقه بأخيه، فاختصم عليه هو وعبد بن زمعة، فأدلى سعد بحجته وهي: أن أخاه أقر بأنه ابنه، وبما بينهما من شبَه، فقال عبد بن زمعة: هو أخي، ولد من وليدة أبي، يعني: أبوه سيد الأمة التي ولدته، فهو صاحب الفراش، فنظر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى الغلام، فرأى فيه شبها بَيِّنًا بعتبة، وقضى به لزمعه وقال: الولد للفراش، وللعاهر الزاني الخيبة والخسار، فهو بعيد عن الولد؛ لأن الأصل أنَّه تابع لمالك الأمة الذي يستحقه، وطأها بطريقة صحيحة، ولكن لما رأى شبه الغلام بعتبة، تورع صلى الله عليه وسلم أن يستبيح النظر إلى أخته سودة بنت زمعة بهذا النسب، فأمرها بالاحتجاب منه؛ احتياطا وتورُعاً، فالشبه والقرائن لا يلتفت لها مع وجود الفراش.
أن الاستلحاق لا يختص بالأب، بل يجوز من الأخ وغيره من الأقارب.
أن حكم الشبه إنما يعتمد عليه، إذا لم يكن هناك ما هو أقوى منه كالفراش.
أن الزوجة تكون فراشاً بمجرد عقد النكاح وإمكان الوطء (حصول الخلوة بعد العقد)، وأن الأمة فراش، لكن لا تعتبر إلا بوطء السيد، فلا يكفى مجرد الملك.والفرق بينهما، أن عقد النكاح مقصود للوطء، وأما تملك الأمة، فلمقاصد كثيرة.
أن الولد للفراش، بشرط إمكان الإلحاق بصاحب الفراش، والحديث أصل في إلحاق الولد بصاحب الفراش وإن طرأ عليه وطء محرم.
أمر النبي -صلى الله عليه وسلم- زوجته سودة بالاحتجاب من الغلام على سبيل الاحتياط والورع؛ لما رأى الشبه قويا بينه وبين عتبة بن أبي وقاص.
