The Messenger of Allah ﷺ carried out the procedure of mutual cursing between Ajlani and his wife. She was pregnant at the time, and he said, "By Allah, I have not approached her since we performed afr."Afr refers to watering the date palms after they have been left without irrigation for two months following pollination.
أن رسول الله ﷺ لاعن بين العجلاني وامرأته قال: وكانت حبلى. فقال: والله ما قربتها منذ عفرنا. قال: والعفر أن يسقى النخل بعد أن يترك من السقي بعد الإبار بشهرين.
Imam Ahmad narrated it (3106) from Abdul-Malik bin Amr, who said, Mughira bin Abdul-Rahman told us, from Abu Zinad, from Qasim bin Muhammad, that he heard Ibn Abbas mention it in a long hadith. Nasai also narrated it (3467) through another route from Abu Zinad, and its origin is found in the Sahihayn with different wording.This hadith is evidence that lian could be based on accusation of fornication, or on denial of pregnancy. It appears from the denial of pregnancy that the pregnancy had existed for some time, and the man had been suspicious of his wife, and when it became clear to him that she was an adulteress, he denied the pregnancy.There is a detailed distinction here. If the pregnancy predated his suspicion and he had no doubt about it, and he only performed lian over her act of fornication when he actually saw her committing it, then the child is his, because the child belongs to the marriage bed, and it is not permissible to deny the child through lian.But if he did not know she was pregnant at the time of the fornication for which he accused her, then this needs closer examination. If she gives birth less than six months after the act of fornication, the child is his, and cannot be denied through his lian. But if she gives birth more than six months after it and he denies the child, then the child is attributed to its mother, and the final ruling rests with the judge.