The Ruling on Breastfeeding with a Cup and the Effect of the Child's Age
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The questioner:
A girl who is eleven years old asked: Her mother was divorced, and although she was still an infant, she was weaned. Her father then married another woman, who became pregnant and gave birth. The girl was approximately two and a half years old at the time. She saw her infant brother nursing from her stepmother, so she wanted to nurse as well. Her stepmother would offer her the breast, and she would try to nurse, sometimes failing. When she failed, her stepmother would sometimes give her milk through a cup. This happened many times. The question is: In this case, are the stepmother’s brothers considered her maternal uncles through breastfeeding? She was approximately two and a half years old when she nursed from her brother’s mother.
The Shaykh:
Yes, if she took the woman’s milk, whether she sucked it from the breast or took it through a cup, feeding, or nursing, it is all the same. If she nursed from her five times, meaning she sucked five times, she becomes her daughter, and the nursing mother’s brothers become her maternal uncles.
The questioner:
Does the age of two and a half have an effect, Shaykh?
The Shaykh:
If she is at the age of breastfeeding, she does not eat food; she is limited to breastfeeding, and her nourishment is breast milk. However, if she is eating food, then she has reached the age of weaning and no longer needs milk, so this breastfeeding has no effect. Yes.
A girl who is eleven years old asked: Her mother was divorced, and although she was still an infant, she was weaned. Her father then married another woman, who became pregnant and gave birth. The girl was approximately two and a half years old at the time. She saw her infant brother nursing from her stepmother, so she wanted to nurse as well. Her stepmother would offer her the breast, and she would try to nurse, sometimes failing. When she failed, her stepmother would sometimes give her milk through a cup. This happened many times. The question is: In this case, are the stepmother’s brothers considered her maternal uncles through breastfeeding? She was approximately two and a half years old when she nursed from her brother’s mother.
The Shaykh:
Yes, if she took the woman’s milk, whether she sucked it from the breast or took it through a cup, feeding, or nursing, it is all the same. If she nursed from her five times, meaning she sucked five times, she becomes her daughter, and the nursing mother’s brothers become her maternal uncles.
The questioner:
Does the age of two and a half have an effect, Shaykh?
The Shaykh:
If she is at the age of breastfeeding, she does not eat food; she is limited to breastfeeding, and her nourishment is breast milk. However, if she is eating food, then she has reached the age of weaning and no longer needs milk, so this breastfeeding has no effect. Yes.
Source
الفتاوى الفقهية في المسائل الطبية الرمضانية، الفتاوي الفقهية في المسائل الطبية الرمضانية — islamhouse.com (1:01:41)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.