The children of zina in the state of disbelief of their fathers before their Islam: Is their financial maintenance obligatory upon their fathers after their Islam?

The questioner : He asks about the problem of zina, from which few of our brothers and sisters were safe before their Islam. Many children resulted from these relations, and I would not be exaggerating if I described them as a nation of people. Are the children who came from this zina financially the responsibility of their fathers who have become Muslim, when there was no contract between them and their mothers?

The Shaykh : As for those who engaged in intercourse in a state of disbelief, if they believed that this intercourse took place under a contract they considered valid, even if it is invalid according to the Shari'ah, then the contract is valid and the children belong to the man. For example, a man who was a disbeliever agreed with a woman to be her husband, and she agreed, and they considered this a contract. Then the man and the woman became Muslim. We say to them: You are in your marriage, and you do not need to renew the contract, and the children who were born between you belong to you. Do you understand? Unless the wife is not lawful for the husband in the state of Islam, such as if he was a Zoroastrian and married his sister, and the Zoroastrians permit marriage to close relatives. If he married his sister in a state of disbelief, and then he and she became Muslim, it is obligatory to separate them, because the woman is not lawful for the man now. Do you understand? So we say to this group you mentioned: If you believe that what happened between you and these women was marriage and a contract, then this is not zina and the children are yours. And if you believe that it was zina, then if you claimed these children as yours in a state of disbelief—meaning the fornicator said: These are my children—then they are also his children as long as no one contests it. And if they did not claim them, then they are not their children.
As for financial maintenance, it is based on the fact that if we rule that they are their children, it is obligatory for them to provide for them. And if we do not rule that, then they are not responsible for their maintenance.

The questioner : He is asking ... about financial maintenance, because he was told that these children are the children of zina, and It was said that this is not permissible, so he wanted to know what would be an answer to those who ... in the religion and distort its image, saying: "You claim that Islam is a religion of justice, but what is the sin of these children who have done nothing, such that even their fathers should not be responsible for them?"

The Shaykh : He, may Allah bless you, indicates that there are two men, a fornicator and a husband, each claiming the child is his. The husband says: This is my son, born on my bed. The fornicator says: This is my son, created from my seed. Here we prioritize the side of the Shari'ah, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: But if the fornicator is not contested by anyone in that, meaning he committed zina with a virgin woman, for example, or a woman who has no husband, and no one claimed this child, and the fornicator said: He is my son, then he is his, because these are disbelievers who do not adhere to the rulings of Islam, so he is his and there is no problem in that, and his maintenance is his responsibility. But if he believes that it is a child of zina and that it is not his and he does not want it, then its maintenance is the responsibility of the Muslims who know of its condition. Its maintenance is a collective obligation that the Muslims generally fulfill. Do you understand? Is the answer clear?

The questioner : Clear.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah. Yes.