Parentage: A Comparative Study of Islamic and Pakistani Law

Parentage is one of the basic and most important rights of a child on which all her other rights depend. A child’s rights, like inheritance, guardianship and maintenance are affected by her parentage. Islamic law and Pakistani law give this right its due importance. Parentage includes paternity and maternity of the child. In Islamic law paternity of a child is more important as it is established only for a legitimate child whereas maternity is established for a child irrespective of her status of legitimacy. An illegitimate child and her father have no corresponding rights and duties. The rules of Islamic law regarding establishment of paternity are very lenient and Pakistani law follows these rules to a large extent. According to article 227 of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973 Islamic law is a main source for Pakistani law. The article aims to discuss the concept and the rules regarding parentage in Islamic law and Pakistani law and analyses similarities and differences between the two systems. Important cases are discussed to consider the approach of the courts in deciding issues regarding parentage. The article deals with the sunnī view due to it being the law that the majority of Pakistani Muslims follow.