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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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What is the effect of breastfeeding on uncles and aunts, and what is the ruling on veiling from them?

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The questioner : The questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, I am a married woman, and I have uncles and aunts. My youngest uncle is of the age of weaning from his eldest sister,

The Shaykh : Come, the question.

The questioner : I am a married woman, and I have uncles and aunts. My youngest uncle by age was breastfed by my eldest sister, that is, my aunt, who is older than my father. Does this son of my aunt become my uncle through breastfeeding, and likewise his brothers who are younger than me? Knowing that my husband asks me to veil from them?

The Shaykh : First, we must know that the effect of breastfeeding is tied to only three, pay attention, the effect of breastfeeding is tied to only three: the wet nurse, her husband, and the breastfed child and his descendants. Four: the wet nurse and her husband, and the breastfed child and his descendants. And any other relatives have no connection to breastfeeding. The four, and the brother, yes, not you? His descendants, perfect. An example of this is a child breastfed by a woman named Zaynab and her husband named Ali.
So this girl who was breastfed by Zaynab, Zaynab becomes her mother. And her husband Ali becomes her father. So what are Ali’s children to her? They become her brothers. And Zaynab’s children likewise become her brothers. So what about Ali’s children from other than Zaynab? Ali’s children from other than Zaynab are brothers, but from the father. And Zaynab’s children from other than Ali are also brothers, but from the mother.
As for the descendants of the breastfed child, I mean his sons and daughters, and the children of his sons and the children of his daughters, the ruling of breastfeeding attaches to them. So the wet nurse is, with respect to the sons of the breastfed child, what? A grandmother. And her husband is a grandfather. And they are, with respect to the mother, either daughters’ sons or sons’ sons. And likewise with respect to the father. So if you know that, know that the brothers, I mean the brothers of the breastfed child, have no connection to breastfeeding. Pay attention that the brothers of the breastfed child have no connection to breastfeeding. And the uncles of the breastfed child also have no connection to breastfeeding, except in that they are brothers of the one who has the milk, in which case they become uncles to the breastfed child, because they are brothers of his father through breastfeeding. And based on that, if a person was breastfed by a woman named Zaynab as in the example, and she has daughters, her daughters are forbidden to whom?
To this breastfed child. The brothers of the breastfed child are not. The sisters of the breastfed child are forbidden to them. So it is permissible for the brother of the breastfed child to marry the daughter of Zaynab who breastfed his brother, because breastfeeding does not affect the brothers of the breastfed child. Did you understand this or not? Now we read the question to apply it to this rule. We read the question.

The questioner : The questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, I am a married woman, and I have uncles and aunts. My youngest uncle by age was breastfed by my eldest sister, that is, my aunt, who is older than my father. So does this son of my aunt become my uncle through breastfeeding, and likewise his brothers who are younger than me? Knowing that my husband asks me to veil from them.

The Shaykh : Yes. The question appears to be not clear. So where is the questioner? The questioner is valid even if the questioner is there, but he is not present. It appears I think the women do not go up to this place. So, take a break.

The questioner : The questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, I am a married woman, and I have uncles and aunts. My youngest uncle is of the age of weaning from his eldest sister, that is, my aunt, who is older than my father.

Another questioner : The black one. What? Show my uncles.

The Shaykh : The questioner says: From my sister. Maybe, maybe.

The questioner : Correct. It is the same experience, and it is your work. I read the question. The questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, I am a married woman, and I have uncles and aunts. My youngest uncle by age was breastfed by his eldest sister, that is, my aunt, who is older than my father. So does this son of my aunt become my uncle through breastfeeding, and likewise his brothers who are younger than me? Knowing that my husband asks me to veil from them?

The Shaykh : We apply this example to the rule, people. She says that her youngest uncle was breastfed by his eldest sister. His eldest sister is, with respect to her, an aunt. So her uncle was breastfed by her aunt. The children of her aunt are not her mahram. And the children of her uncle are not her mahram. So the child that comes from this man, that comes from this man, or comes from the woman, is not her mahram. And it is not permissible for her to uncover herself to him. And her husband forcing her to uncover herself is wrong. No, he orders us to be proud and to uncover.
If her husband orders her to veil from them, is that correct or incorrect? Correct. It is obligatory for her to veil from these people because they have no connection to her in terms of being mahram. And perhaps this woman who is defying her husband is from a people who have this bad custom, which is that relatives have no veil between them even if they are not mahram. And this is wrong. So relatives, if they are not mahram, are like strangers in the prohibition of looking at the woman and the obligation of veiling from them.
Source دروس وفتاوى المسجد الحرام لعام 1412 هـ - 4 — binothaimeen.net (54:09)

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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