?QU? FUE DEL NI?O DORMIDO? CONSECUENCIAS DE LA REDUCCION DE LOS PLAZOS M?XIMOS DE DURACI?N DEL EMBARAZO EN LA JURISPRUDENCIA Y LA LEGISLACI?N ISL?MICAS CONTEMPOR?NEAS

This article takes as its starting point the results obtained in two previous works published in specialized journals in the field of Islamic and gender studies (Serra-no-Ruano, 2018, 2022). The main argument of the article is that in contemporary Islamic legal systems, a partial and biased incorporation of modern scientific knowl-edge on embryology, gynecology and genetics on the one hand while maintaining the criminalization of extra-marital relations (zina), on the other, has led to increased vulnerability of certain groups of people such as single mothers and their children, or women who become pregnant after being widowed, divorced or abandoned by their husbands. Meanwhile, the written record seems to indicate that prior to the 20th century, the admission of extremely long pregnancy durations -encapsulated in the doctrine of the dormant embryo -was quite effective in protecting women in the situation described above against a charge of zina and prevented that their children were considered illegitimate and deprived of all kinds of rights. To develop this argument, we first review classical Islamic jurisprudence as well as the legislation and judicial practice of a number of Islamic-majority countries, on the legal duration of pregnancy and paternal filiation. Next, we go on to analyze the social and legal impact that modern genetics and medicine are having on these issues. Ultimately, the work aims to go beyond the strict limits of Islamic studies and facilitate the reception of its results among specialists in gender studies from other disciplines lacking the necessary skills to read Arabic primary and secondary sources.