The ruling on a wife veiling herself from her husband's foster father
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It is well known among some families that a wife does not veil herself from her husband's foster father, and likewise, a wife does not veil herself from her husband's foster mother, and they permit him to enter her presence and be alone with her, and they may even travel with her, considering him to be a mahram (a relative one may not marry) for her. We hope you will clarify the Shari'ah perspective on this matter as it appears to you. May Allah assist you?The Shaykh: Is the foster mother of the wife and the foster father of the husband a mahram? The four madhhabs (schools of jurisprudence) and the majority of scholars say: She is a mahram,Meaning: That breastfeeding affects the mahram status through in-laws, but the scholar of the sea, the distinguished scholar who feared Allah, and we do not praise him beyond what is due to Allah, the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, rejected this,And he said: That the foster mother of the wife is not a mahram for the husband of her foster daughter, and that the foster father is not a mahram for the wife of his foster son, and his statement is stronger than the statements of the majority of scholars; because the verse is clear and the hadith is clear, Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: [Al-Nisa: 23] and the foster son is not of his lineage,And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: (What is forbidden by breastfeeding is forbidden by blood relation) If someone were to ask: Is your wife's mother forbidden to you by blood relation or by in-law relationship?It would be said: By in-law relationship, there is a distance between him and her, she is my wife's mother but she is distant from me,And the hadith: (What is forbidden by breastfeeding is forbidden by blood relation).
And they said: It is not possible to equate breastfeeding with blood relation while it contradicts it in most rulings, meaning that just as it is not valid by explicit text, it is not valid by analogy; because breastfeeding contradicts blood relation in most rulings. Is there inheritance between those related by breastfeeding? Meaning, does your foster father inherit from you as your blood father inherits? No. Does he pay the blood money for accidental killing on your behalf? No. Is it obligatory for you to provide for him? No. Is it obligatory to maintain ties with him as it is obligatory to maintain ties with a blood father? No. So most of the rulings are absent, so there is no text and no analogy, so the statement of the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) - the Shaykh al-Islam - is more correct by scriptural evidence and rational evidence, but nevertheless, the majority of scholars, including the four Imams, hold that the mahrams by breastfeeding include those whose prohibition is through in-law relationships.
the wives of your sons who are from your [own] loins
وَحَلائِلُ أَبْنَائِكُمُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ أَصْلابِكُمْAnd they said: It is not possible to equate breastfeeding with blood relation while it contradicts it in most rulings, meaning that just as it is not valid by explicit text, it is not valid by analogy; because breastfeeding contradicts blood relation in most rulings. Is there inheritance between those related by breastfeeding? Meaning, does your foster father inherit from you as your blood father inherits? No. Does he pay the blood money for accidental killing on your behalf? No. Is it obligatory for you to provide for him? No. Is it obligatory to maintain ties with him as it is obligatory to maintain ties with a blood father? No. So most of the rulings are absent, so there is no text and no analogy, so the statement of the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) - the Shaykh al-Islam - is more correct by scriptural evidence and rational evidence, but nevertheless, the majority of scholars, including the four Imams, hold that the mahrams by breastfeeding include those whose prohibition is through in-law relationships.