What is the ruling on breastfeeding an adult?

The questioner : May Allah bless you. We hear and read in the books of Islamic jurisprudence about breastfeeding an adult, but it can become confusing for us from one book or one jurist's opinion to another. So we want what is established and correct. May Allah bless you.

The Shaykh : Breastfeeding an adult, without a doubt, the original ruling is that it does not make a relationship forbidden.

The questioner : It does not make a relationship forbidden.

The Shaykh : It does not make a relationship forbidden.

The questioner : It does not make a relationship forbidden.

The Shaykh : It does not make a relationship forbidden. The original ruling, I say, is that it does not make a relationship forbidden; because explicit texts have come stating that the breastfeeding that makes a relationship forbidden is what the Messenger (peace be upon him) said: It is the breastfeeding within the two years of the child's age, and it has its known limits in the year, , and within the period of the two years, and similar conditions. This is a matter agreed upon by the scholars of the Muslims.
The Shaykh : As for breastfeeding an adult, there is a hadith, and there is agreement on its authenticity, but there is disagreement regarding the continuation of its ruling. The majority of scholars held that what came in that hadith is a specific ruling for that household, which revolves around two spouses, Hudhayfah and his wife, and Hudhayfah's freed slave, Salim, the freed slave of Hudhayfah. This man was a slave and a freed slave of this noble Companion, and he lived with them as if he were one of their household before the revelation of the hijab. Then, when the hijab was revealed, this man was no longer able to enter upon his mistress, the wife of his master, as he used to enter before. However, there were very strong ties; so he would still enter from time to time.
The student : Praise be to Allah.

The Shaykh : May Allah have mercy on you.
The student: May Allah guide you and rectify your affairs.

The Shaykh : And this Hudhayfah was psychologically uncomfortable with his entry upon his wife, and she felt, as a righteous woman does, what bothers her husband and what pleases and gladdens him. So, she did nothing but come to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned to him that she saw in her husband's eyes something regarding the entry of this freed slave, Salim, upon her. He said to her: . She said, "He is a man." So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), with his gentleness and humility, said to her: . So she breastfed him. Then she returned to say to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "I no longer, O Messenger of Allah, see in my eyes of Hudhayfah what I used to see before." Meaning that this breastfeeding, although it was the breastfeeding of an adult man, affected the psychology of this person, and it was as if he became her son, and he was an adult.
The Shaykh : This story is authentic. The wives of the Messenger (peace be upon him), let alone the others, differed in this story: is it a specific story for this family that does not extend to others, or does it include those who are on its model and in its rhythm? The wives of the Messenger, generally, held that it is a specific issue from which no ruling is taken. As for A'isha, she held that this ruling extends from the people of the household to those who resemble them. For this reason, she (may Allah be pleased with her), when she felt the necessity of a non-mahram relative entering upon her, would order her sister to breastfeed him, and he was an adult. Yes, so she would become his aunt, and he would enter upon her without her having to veil herself as is prescribed. And this ruling continued to this era; that is, the majority are on the methodology of the wives of the Messenger, and the few are on the methodology of A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her). And among this few are Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah. And I, in fact, am reassured by this opinion. And the criterion for that is necessity or pressing need; meaning, the problem is not solved except by this method.
The Shaykh : The Hanafi scholars, who are accustomed to trying to answer some of the life problems that occur for some people with opinions in which they may be correct in some and wrong in others; among that, for example, some of them say: If one of them wants to enter upon a woman and he has a need to enter upon her, and he and she are uncomfortable with this entry because there is no prohibition, it is sufficient for him to contract a marriage with the daughter of that woman, even if she is still, as they say in our land in Syria... meaning, a very small girl, even a girl of months, let alone a girl of two, three, four, five years, and so on. So he contracts a marriage with this small girl, and her mother becomes his mother-in-law; that is, she is forbidden to him, and he enters upon her. This is pure opinion, this is pure opinion. But I see that this authentic, established story in "Sahih al-Bukhari," which the Mother of the Believers adopted the ruling of, and she is without a doubt more knowledgeable, not just more knowledgeable than the wives of the Messenger (peace be upon him), but she is more knowledgeable than many of the Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), can be used to solve a problem that may occur in a family due to special circumstances, for example. I imagine, for example, a non-Muslim family that embraced Islam, and the husband and his wife lived with his brother-in-law; the husband's brother, of course, as is the custom of the Christians. And this brother-in-law, the husband's brother, is unmarried, and it is difficult for him now to separate him from this family. It is possible to utilize this hadith and this household ruling, if the expression is correct, to permit the staying of this brother-in-law with his brother and his brother's wife until Allah (Mighty and Majestic) creates for him an exit and a relief. This is the answer to the question.

The questioner : May Allah bless you, O Shaykh. Now, O Shaykh, how is the breastfeeding to be done?

The Shaykh : With a pacifier.

The questioner : With a pacifier, with a baby bottle, I mean.
The student : The Shaykh al-Uthaymeen says what you say, O Shaykh, the Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen.

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student : He says by combining the hadiths that prohibit breastfeeding in childhood with the story of Salim.

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student : He says by combining that it remains until the Day of Resurrection in the same circumstances in which it was.

The Shaykh: Perfect.
The student : Yes, praise be to Allah.