Chapter on the Inheritance of the Child of Adultery

One of our companions wrote to Abu Ja'far Al-Thani (as) through me, asking Imam (as) about a man who committed adultery with a woman, and she became pregnant. Later, he married her after the pregnancy, and she gave birth to a child who resembled him more than anyone else in creation. Imam (as) wrote back in his own handwriting and with his seal: "The child is the result of fornication and does not inherit."

I asked Imam (as): "May I be your ransom, what is the blood money (diyyah) for a child born out of fornication?" Imam (as) replied: "The one who spent on him is to be given what he spent on him." I asked: "If the child dies and has wealth, who inherits it?" He (as) said: "The Imam." It has also been narrated: "The blood money (diyyah) for a child born out of fornication is eight hundred dirhams, and his inheritance is like the inheritance of the child of mula'anah (mutual cursing between spouses in the case of adultery accusations)."