Breastfeeding and its legal effects (rada'a)

What breastfeeding forbids

The rule is unanimous: what birth forbids, breastfeeding forbids, according to the verse "your mothers who nursed you, and your sisters through nursing" (an-Nisa 23). Thus the Prophet said about the daughter of Hamza: "what breastfeeding forbids, birth forbids" (al-Bukhari 2502 ; Muslim 1447). Aisha also reported from the Prophet: "what breastfeeding forbids is what birth forbids", in one version: "what lineage forbids".

The conditions of this bar

• the milk must reach the child's stomach, by suckling, a tube or any other means: the four schools make no difference;
• it must occur within the first two years: the jurists agree that nursing after two years creates no bar; Abu Yusuf and Muhammad among the Hanafis, Malik in the Muwatta, the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis rely on "mothers nurse their children two complete years" (al-Baqara 233) and "his weaning, in two years" (Luqman 14);
• one suckle suffices: Hanafis, Malikis, the Shafi'is in one view, and a narration of Ahmad hold the bar as soon as milk reaches the stomach, even in a single intake;
• milk mixed with a liquid: the bar attaches if the milk dominates, recognizable by taste, color or smell, according to the majority of schools;
• for Hanafis, one Maliki view, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, the milk of a girl who has not reached nine lunar years creates no bar; the Maliki school holds, in its core, the opposite view for the girl unable to have relations;
• no bar arises from an animal's milk: the Law legislated only for human milk.

Proving a nursing, contesting a marriage

The jurists agree to prove nursing by testimony. For the Hanafis, women's words alone do not suffice: two men are needed, or a man with two trustworthy women, since milk may be given other than by suckling. If the wife claims her husband is her milk-brother and he denies it, her word is not held against him: she is suspected of wanting the breakup; if the marriage was not consummated, she gets nothing of the mahr among Malikis, and the mahr's fate varies by case among Hanbalis.

To nurse or not: rights and burdens

If the infant cannot live without milk, nursing becomes obligatory by consensus, even if the mother refuses. The divorced mother who finished her waiting period is not obliged to nurse, unless no other wet nurse exists (al-Baqara 233). If she nurses, her wage is due; the wife still married nursing her child, the fatwa is that she nurses without taking a wage from her husband, for the Hanafis and one Shafi'i view, unless no other can be found.

Practical note

Nursing creates lasting family ties: check them before a marriage, and establish them with witnesses when they shape a couple's future. For a specific case, consult a scholar.