The hadith of Abu Hudhayfah's breastfeeding and Aisha's position

The questioner : Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings.

The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. Peace be upon you.

The questioner : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. May Allah reward you with good, O our professor.

The Shaykh : May Allah keep you safe.

The questioner : One of our brothers was sitting with me here just now when I asked. The infant is in a report from the Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that a man came to her and asked for breastfeeding. She sent Asma to breastfeed him. Is this found in her report, O professor?

The Shaykh : Yes, it is found.

The questioner : How, O professor, is this found, or is there a text for this matter?

The Shaykh : First, my brother, breastfeeding, as we have discussed, is only in the period that grows bone and forms flesh, meaning in two complete years. This is the rule. But there is a hadith that says a man from the Companions named Abu Hudhayfah had a freed slave named Salim. This slave used to enter and exit the home of Abu Hudhayfah before the veil was revealed. When the veil was revealed, women began to veil themselves, and he was a freed slave. What does "freed slave" mean? It means a slave who was then freed. Before the veil, they were living as they say in Syria, "close and open," or rather, as relatives live today who are not prohibited from seeing each other nor permitted to see each other.

The questioner : Because this was not the practice of the Salaf (the earliest generations) first, and because it leads to people becoming lazy and neglecting the memorization of the Qur'an. When a person is told to read from the Qur'an, he does not burden himself with memorizing anything from the Qur'an. Is that clear?

The Shaykh : Ah. When the veil was revealed and the verse "And do not display their adornment except to their husbands or their fathers or..." was revealed, this freed slave was no longer permitted to see his mistress as he used to see her before. But they had no alternative to his entering and exiting. The husband was hesitant about this entering and exiting. The woman, being righteous and intelligent, noticed in her husband's eyes a dislike of the freed slave's entering, even though they had no alternative to him. So she went to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned the story to him. He said, "Breastfeed him, and he will become prohibited to you." He was a man with a beard and mustache, unlike the men of the last age. She said to him, "O Messenger of Allah, how can I breastfeed him when he is a man?" He laughed (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "I know he is a man. Breastfeed him." She returned and breastfed this man. Then later, she returned to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I no longer see in the eyes of Abu Hudhayfah what I used to see before." Do you understand the family concept?

The questioner : By Allah, O professor, I understand, but I am thinking.

The Shaykh : Yes, the one who is thinking is afraid that later he will not be understood.

The questioner : No, professor, I understand you, but I am thinking, professor, about breastfeeding this man.

The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. This is from your haste.

The questioner : Because this was not the practice of the Salaf (the earliest generations) first, and because it leads to people becoming lazy and neglecting the memorization of the Qur'an. When a person is told to read from the Qur'an, he does not burden himself with memorizing anything from the Qur'an. Is that clear?

The Shaykh : I am preparing you to understand the answer at the end.

The questioner : Yes, professor, please. I am sitting quietly and silent. Okay. Please.

The Shaykh : So the women of the Messenger differed regarding this hadith. Is this ruling specific to this case only, or can it be transferred to similar cases? The Lady Aisha held that it could be transferred, meaning the ruling should not be restricted to this story. The other women of the Messenger held that the story was specific to that man, that woman, and his freed slave. Do you understand up to here?

The questioner : Because this was not the practice of the Salaf (the earliest generations) first, and because it leads to people becoming lazy and neglecting the memorization of the Qur'an. When a person is told to read from the Qur'an, he does not burden himself with memorizing anything from the Qur'an. Is that clear?

The Shaykh : Based on the opinion of the Lady Aisha, she would order a woman who was a wet nurse to breastfeed an older man whom she needed to enter her home, so that she would not have to veil herself from him. Thus, this older man would become, for example, her brother in breastfeeding. Excuse me.

The questioner : Yes, and her mother would become, professor.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : He would become her mother, meaning in breastfeeding.

The Shaykh : No, no, because she has a sister named Asma. If a man or a boy is breastfed by Asma, what does he become?

The questioner : During, professor, yes.

The Shaykh : So the boy becomes like a son by blood. How is Asma's son by blood? The Lady Aisha would be his maternal aunt. So this breastfed child?

The questioner : He would be.

The Shaykh : She is his maternal aunt, so this breastfed child becomes prohibited to her. Do you understand?

The questioner : Yes, professor, I understand.

The Shaykh : So the Lady Aisha, by this means, based on her opinion that the previous story was not specific and its ruling was not limited, would use this method. She would establish a breastfeeding relationship between a man she saw as necessary to enter her home and herself through this breastfeeding, creating this prohibition by this means. Is the answer clear to you now?

The questioner : It is clear to me, O professor.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good.