Obtaining an identity card in the name of a maternal grandfather

454

Q 1: What is the Shari`ah (Islamic law) ruling on someone who gets an identity card in the name of his maternal grandfather, who is a cousin by birth to his own father? They are all Saudis and there is no problem between them regarding inheritance. Does the Hadith about claiming attribution to other than one’s father apply to this case and who are the people referred to in the Hadith?

A: This is not permissible, as it involves him attributing himself to other than his own father, even though it is to his maternal grandfather, his father’s cousin by birth. This is due to the generality of the texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah on this subject. The legal father is the man from whose sperm a child was conceived in a lawful manner, i.e., within marriage.