Fathwa, - Her husband rejects his daughter to be traced back to him

Question
I have known my husband five years and we have been married four.
After two years of marriage in the US he went home to Tunisia. The US
would not let him return for ten years because of overstay of visa. I
went to Tunisia and fought for his return. In this period I became
pregnant. It took 15 months of hard work but in short his case was
approved. He returned and stayed without work for 6 months and had
work for 1 and a half months and left. Now he is saying our daughter
Khadeejah is not his daughter and he has even taken his last name from
her. He will not take a test to prove that she is his and he will not
help me in anyway with her. I am Muslim and have only been for three
years. I have much to learn. But I would have never thought that a
Muslim man would do this. But he says he is standing behind Islam in
his choice. Where would I find this in the Quran? I have read he must
bring four witnesses. In the Islamic way what can I do? I already know
what I can do here in the western world. But I am looking for the way
of Islam.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that
Muhammadis His slave and Messenger.
First of all, it should be noted that in principle a Muslim is
innocent and it is not permissible to accuse him/her of a dishonour
]with something immoral[ without evidence, especially in matters of
dignity, and mainly between the husband and his wife. Allaah Says
)what means(: }O you who have believed, avoid much ]negative[
assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin.{]Quran 49:12[. If a man
accuses his wife of having committed adultery, then he should bring
four witnesses for his claim, orthey should perform Li'aan )which is
when each of them makes an oath he is truthful in his claim and then
asks Allaah to curse the one who is lying( otherwise, he should be
whipped for accusing a chaste woman of committing adultery.
If a married woman is pregnant and gave birth to a child, the child is
traced back to her husband and it is not permissible for him to deny
the child from his lineage, and he is not permitted to do so except if
he performs Li'aan with his wife in which case the child will be
traced back to her. It is confirmed that the Prophetsaid:"The baby
belongs to the owner of the bed )i.e. the husband(."]Al-Bukhaari and
Muslim[ Therefore, it is an obligation to advise this husband, if it
is confirmed that he is accusing you of adultery, as he should not
accuse you of having committed adultery without evidence, or reject
his daughter to be traced back to him. He should be reminded about the
religious view on this matter as we discussed. If he still persists on
accusing you of adultery, and refuses to accept the daughter as his,
then you may take the matter to an Islamic court or to an institution
which usually attends to personal matters in non-Muslim countries like
Islamic centres and the like.
It should be noted that it is not permissible to resort to man-made
laws )i.e. civil courts( without a necessity. Also, refusing lineage
is not decided by sperm test, as in principle the family lineage is
confirmed, and the evidence is the above narration in which the
Prophetsaid:"The baby belongs to the owner of the bed."So, this
principle should not be neglected because of a suspicion which is
subject to many deficiencies. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa
88510.
Finally, we advise you to be patient and wise, while invoking Allaah
to relieve your grief and make a way out to your difficulty. You
should know that Allaah will be with you if you are really wronged,
and He will make the truth overcome. Furthermore, you should know that
Islam protects your rightsmore than any other religion or law, and
Islam is disowns the behaviour of this man, if he is as you mentioned.
Allaah Knows best.