The ruling on greeting a maternal uncle through breastfeeding

Question:
And to him, the Shaykh, my wife discovered that she has a maternal uncle through breastfeeding. This uncle has greeted all her sisters through breastfeeding, but my wife was overcome with modesty, so she has not greeted him to this day. We want to be sure that she has a maternal uncle through breastfeeding. So, do I order him to greet her? And what about greeting him, and what about his status after that?

Answer:
This is not kinship. A maternal uncle through breastfeeding is not kinship, and he is not a relative. It is not obligatory for her to uncover herself to him or greet him. As long as modesty prevents her, there is no harm in her refraining. If the modesty goes away later, she should greet him. If it remains, it is not obligatory for her to greet him, nor is it obligatory for him to greet her. There is no severing of kinship in this, because this is not kinship. Rather, this is a permissible matter. It is permissible for him to greet her, for her to greet him, and for her not to veil herself from him. If she is overcome with modesty, she is not forced to greet him, for him to greet her, or for anything else. This matter is not obligatory.