If a husband learns that his wife is pregnant from zina, is li'an obligatory upon him, or does he divorce her?

The questioner : May Allah reward you. The questioner asks: If a husband learns that his wife is pregnant from zina, is li'an obligatory upon him, or does he divorce her?

The Shaykh : Is what obligatory upon him?

The questioner : Is li'an obligatory upon him, or does he divorce her?

The Shaykh : In this issue, the scholars have differed. If a woman is certainly pregnant by someone other than her husband:
Some scholars said: It is not possible to disown the child, and the child is his in any case, unless he first accuses her of zina and then performs li'an. He would say, "My wife committed zina, may Allah keep us safe, and this child is from zina."
Other scholars said: It is permissible to perform li'an to disown the child without accusing the wife of zina, because the wife may not have committed zina; she may have been coerced or deceived, and the coerced or deceived person is not sinful. This second opinion is more correct: if a man's wife is certainly pregnant by another, he performs li'an to disown the child, saying, "This child is not mine," and testifies against himself as previously mentioned. But here is the issue: Is disowning the child an easy matter?
No, it is a difficult matter. I mean, if there is a possibility, even one in a million, that it is yours, it is forbidden for you to disown it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "The child belongs to the bed." The child is your child. Have you seen if your wife gave birth to a child who resembles you, with no resemblance to you in color? The husband is white and the wife is white, the husband has a straight nose and the wife has a straight nose, the husband has a round face and the wife has a round face, and then a black child with a flat nose is born. What does "flat nose" mean? It means his nose is not straight, his color is different, yes, and his face is also different, rectangular, the face is different, the nose is different, the color is different. Is it permissible for the husband to disown this child?
It is not permissible, it is not permissible, even though his color, the shape of his face, and his nose are different. A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Listen to the story, it is strange: It seemed the matter was confusing to him. He said, "What is the solution? My wife gave birth to a black boy." That is, the husband is white and the wife is white, so where did this blackness come from? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had been given wisdom by Allah and the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. He said: Do you know about red camels? Yes, their color is red. He said: "Awraq" is one whose color is between white and black. He said, "Yes." If its color differs from the color of the camels—the male and female camels are all red—and this camel is "awraq," the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: The male camel is red and the female is red, and this child is the "awraq" camel. Where did it come from? He said, meaning, perhaps there is some "awraq" in his fathers and grandfathers or his mothers and grandmothers. Did the man answer or not? He answered with reality, because it is possible that there is a lineage from his ancient fathers and grandfathers. So he said, "Perhaps your child took it from a lineage." The man was reassured. The man was reassured because he himself judged his own case. The man was reassured and left, and the difficulty was resolved.
So in this is evidence that the child belongs to the bed, whether his color differs from the color of the husband and wife or matches it, and so with his face, and so with his nose. Do you know why all this is? To protect lineages. All this is to protect lineages from being lost, or for Satan to enter a person and make him doubt, because if a person doubts his child, he has doubted that it is his, and he has doubted the chastity of his wife. These are two great harms. Therefore, we say the child belongs to the bed, and the fornicator gets a stone. Yes, and here this lesson ends. And Glory is to You, O our Lord, and with Your praise. I testify that there is no god but You.
Slow down. May Allah reward you with good. I testify that there is no god but You. I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You. Wait, my brothers.