30. Suckling

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr fromAmra bint Abd ar-Rahman that A'isha, umm al-muminin informed her thatthe Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, waswith her and she heard the voice of a man asking permission to enterthe room of Hafsa. A'isha said that she had said, "Messenger of Allah!There is a man asking permission to enter your house!" The Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I think itis so-and-so" (referring to a paternal uncle of Hafsa by suckling).A'isha said, "Messenger of Allah! If so-and-so were alive (referringto her paternal uncle by suckling) could he enter where I am?" TheMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,"Yes. Suckling makes haram as birth makes haram." Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from hisfather that A'isha, umm al-muminin said, "My paternal uncle bysuckling came to me and I refused to give him permission to enteruntil I had asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, about it. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, came and I asked him about it. He said, 'He isyour paternal uncle, so give him permission.' So I said, 'Messenger ofAllah! The woman nursed me not the man.' He said, 'He is your paternaluncle, so let him enter.' " A'isha said, "That was after theveil had been imposed on us." A'isha added, "What is haram bybirth is made haram by suckling." Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr that A'isha umm al-muminin told him that Aflah, the brother ofAbu'l-Quays came and asked permission to visit her after the veil hadbeen lowered, and he was her paternal uncle by suckling. She said, "Irefusedto give him permission to enter. When the Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came, I told him about what Ihad done, and he ordered me to give him permission to enter." Yahya related to me from Malik from Thawr ibn Zayd ad-Dili thatAbdullah ibn Abbas said, "The milk which a child under two years oldsucks, even if it is only one suck, makes the foster relatives haram." Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Amr ibn ash-Sharid that Abdullah ibn Abbas was asked whether, if a man had twowives, and one of them nursed a slave-boy, and the other had nursed aslave-girl, could the slave-boy marry the slave-girl. He said, "No.The husband is the same." Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umarsaid, "There is no kinship by suckling except for a person who isnursed when he is small. There is no kinship by suckling over the ageof two years." Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Salim ibn Abdullahibn Umar informed him that A'isha umm al-muminin sent him away whilehe was being nursed to her sister Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr as-Siddiqand said, "Suckle him ten times so that he can come in to see me." Salim said, "Umm Kulthum nursed me three times and then fellill, so that she only nursed me three times. I could not go in to seeA'isha because Umm Kulthum did not finish for me the ten times." Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Safiyya bint AbiUbayd told him that Hafsa, umm al-muminin, sent Asim ibn Abdullah ibnSad to her sister Fatima bint Umar ibn al-Khattab for her to sucklehim ten times so that he could come in to see her. She did it, so heused to come in to see her. Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasimthat his father told him that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, admitted those whom her sistersand the daughters of her brother had nursed, and she did not admitthose who were nursed by the wives of her brothers. Yahya related to me from Malik that Ibrahim ibn Uqba asked Saidibn al-Musayyab about suckling. Said said, "All that occurs in thefirst two years, even if it is only a drop, makes haram. Whatever isafter two years, is only food that is eaten." Ibrahim ibnUqba said, ''Then I asked Urwa ibn az-Zubayr and he told me the sameas what Said ibn al-Musayyab said." Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said that heheard Said ibn al-Musayyab say, "Suckling is only while the child isin the cradle. If not, it does not cause flesh and blood relations." Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that he said,"Suckling however little or much, makes haram. Kinship by sucklingmakes men mahram." Yahya said that he had heard Malik say,"Suckling, however little or much when it is in the first two years,makes haram. As for what is after the first two years, little or much,it does not make anything haram. It is like food." Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that he was askedabout the suckling of an older person. He said, ''Urwa ibn az-Zubayrinformed me that Abu Hudhayfa ibn Utba ibn Rabia, one of thecompanions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, who was present at Badr, adopted Salim (who is calledSalim, the mawla of Abu Hudhayfa) as the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, adopted Zayd ibn Haritha. He thought ofhim as his son, and Abu Hudhayfa married him to his brother's sister,Fatima bint al-Walid ibn Utba ibn Rabia, who was at that time amongthe first emigrants. She was one of the best unmarried women of theQuraysh. When Allah the Exalted sent down in His Book what He sentdown about Zayd ibn Haritha, 'Call them after their true fathers. Thatis more equitable in the sight of Allah. If you do not know who theirfathers were then they are your brothers in the deen and your mawali,'(Sura 33 ayat 5) people in this position were traced back to theirfathers. When the father was not known, they were traced to theirmawla. "Sahla bint Suhayl who was the wife of Abu Hudhayfa,and one of the tribe of Amr ibn Luayy, came to the Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger ofAllah! We think of Salim as a son and he comes in to see me while I amuncovered. We only have one room, so what do you think about thesituation?' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, said, 'Give him five drinks of your milk and he will be mahramby it.' She then saw him as a foster son. A'isha umm al-muminin tookthat as a precedent for whatever men she wanted to be able to come tosee her. She ordered her sister, Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr as-Siddiqand the daughters of her brother to give milk to whichever men shewanted to be able to come in to see her. The rest of the wives of theProphet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, refused to letanyone come in to them by such nursing. They said, 'No! By Allah! Wethink that what the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, ordered Sahla bint Suhayl to do was only an indulgenceconcerning the nursing of Salim alone. No! By Allah! No one will comein upon us by such nursing!' "This is what the wives of theProphet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, thought about thesuckling of an older person." Yahya related to me from Malik that Abdullah ibn Dinar said, "Aman came to Abdullah ibn Umar when I waswith him at the place wherejudgments were given and asked him about the suckling of an olderperson. Abdullah ibn Umar replied, 'A man came to Umar ibn al-Khattaband said, 'I have a slave-girl and I used to have intercourse withher. My wife went to her and suckled her. When I went to the girl, mywife told me to watch out, because she had suckled her!' Umar told himto beat his wife and to go to his slave-girl because kinship bysuckling was only by the suckling of the young.' " Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that a mansaid to Abu Musa al-Ashari, "I drank some milk from my wife's breastsand it went into my stomach." Abu Musa said, "I can only but thinkthat she is haram for you." Abdullah ibn Masud said, "Look at whatopinion you are giving the man." Abu Musa said, "Then what do yousay?" Abdullah ibn Masud said, "There is only kinship by suckling inthe first two years." Abu Musa said, "Do not ask me aboutanything while this learned man is among you." Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Dinar fromSulayman ibn Yasar and from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr from A'isha umm al-muminin, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, said, " What is haram by birth is haram by suckling." Yahya related to me from Malik that Muhammad ibn Abd ar-Rahmanibn Nawfal said, ''Urwa ibn az-Zubayr informed me from A'isha umm al-muminin that Judama bint Wahb al-Asadiyya informed her that she heardthe Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say,'I intended to prohibit ghila but I remembered that the Greeks andPersians do that without it causing any injury to their children.' " Malik explained, "Ghila is that a man has intercourse withhis wife while she is suckling." Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibnHazm from Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman that A'isha, the wife of theProphet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Amongst whatwas sent down of the Qur'an was 'ten known sucklings make haram' -then it was abrogated by 'five known sucklings'. When the Messenger ofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, died, it was what isnow recited of the Qur'an." Yahya said that Malik said, "Onedoes not act on this."