Extra-marital child (walad al zina) and his right to maintenance (nafaqah): a comparison of Islamic law and South African common law

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dc.contributor.authorNgema, Nqobizwe Mvelo
dc.contributor.authorIyer, Desan
dc.coverageUnited Kingdom
dc.coverage.conferenceissn
dc.date.accessioned2026-03-11T10:19:57Z
dc.date.available2026-03-11T10:19:57Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.departmentNameLaw
dc.description.abstractIslamic law forbids fornication and adultery (zina) because they result in several societal problems such as bitterness in relationships, spread of diseases and the confusion of lineage. Any child born because of zina is regarded as walad al zina (an extra-marital child). There is consensus amongst the various Islamic schools of thought (madhab) that an extra-marital child (walad ala zina) has no relationship with his or her biological father. As a result of this absence of connection, the biological father faces no legal obligation to maintain his extra-marital child. On the contrary, every parent regardless of marital status has a full legal obligation to maintain his or her children under the South African common law. It is submitted that the exclusion of an extra-marital child from receiving child maintenance from his biological father merely because he was born outside marriage, does not promote the principle of the best interest of the child at all. Furthermore, the exclusion also constitutes a violation of the child’s equality rights and dignity and is therefore unconstitutional.
dc.facultyFaculty of Commerce, Administration and Law
dc.identifier.citationNgema, N.M. and Iyer, D. 2023. Extra-marital child (walad al zina) and his right to maintenance (nafaqah): a comparison of Islamic law and South African common law. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 12(1), pp.253-261.
dc.identifier.issn2281-4612 (online)
dc.identifier.issn2281-3993 (print)
dc.identifier.otherhttps://doi.org/10.36941/ajis-2023-0046
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10530/58944
dc.inproceedingsissn
dc.issuenumber12 / 2
dc.keynoteissn
dc.language.isoen
dc.pages253 - 261
dc.peerreviewedYes
dc.publisherRichtmann Publishing
dc.subjectWalad al zina
dc.subjectNafaqah
dc.subjectComparison of Islamic law
dc.subjectSouth African law
dc.subjectCommon law
dc.titleExtra-marital child (walad al zina) and his right to maintenance (nafaqah): a comparison of Islamic law and South African common law
dc.title.journalAcademic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies
dc.typeJournal Article
dspace.entity.typePublication
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