Is the mother of a wife through breastfeeding a mahram to the husband?
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The questioner : Your Eminence, is the mother of a wife through breastfeeding a mahram to the husband?
The Shaykh : Yes, the majority of scholars, including the four Imams, say that the mother of a wife through breastfeeding is like her mother by blood. Therefore, the husband of her daughter through breastfeeding is a mahram to her, just as the husband of her daughter by blood is a mahram. They cited as evidence the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Ibn Majah 1937Sahih (Darussalam) Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said that the mother of a wife through breastfeeding is not like her mother by blood, and that the husband of her daughter through breastfeeding is not a mahram to her. He cited the same hadith as evidence, saying that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Ibn Majah 1937Sahih (Darussalam) It is known that your wife’s mother is forbidden to you, but by what reason? By blood or by marriage? By marriage. If it is by marriage, then the hadith indicates by its implication that she is not a mahram to you. The position adopted by the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) is closer to the truth: that the mother of your wife through breastfeeding and the daughter of your wife through breastfeeding are not among your mahrams.
The remaining question is: Is it permissible for a man, if his wife dies, to marry her mother through breastfeeding or her daughter through breastfeeding? We say: Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) says, yes, it is permissible because she is not a mahram to him. But I say, from the standpoint of caution, that he should not marry her, because the major disagreement on this issue may require a person to refrain from permitting it.
If someone asks: How do you say he should not marry her while also saying she is not among his mahrams? Is this not a type of contradiction? We say: There is no harm. In the case of caution, we combine the two rulings. Our evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) judged in favor of the boy in the dispute between 'Abd ibn Zuma'ah and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. He judged in favor of whom? He judged in favor of Zuma'ah, making him the brother of Sawdah, and Sawdah was the wife of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a clear resemblance to 'Utbah in this boy, he said to his wife: Here, he combined two different, contradictory rulings for the sake of caution. Therefore, I see in this issue that the mother of a wife through breastfeeding and the daughter of a wife through breastfeeding are not a mahram, as chosen by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. But I see, from the standpoint of scrupulousness and caution, that he should not marry her except in one case: he may marry her if no other woman from the daughters of Adam remains. In that case, he marries her out of dire necessity.
The questioner : Is there anything to follow?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : There are branching matters.
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : Are there branching matters from these matters, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : Does anything attach to it?
The Shaykh : No, no. Inheritance, by consensus, is not affected by breastfeeding. Consensus holds that it does not affect inheritance, nor the obligation of financial maintenance, nor the obligation of the 'aqilah (kin group) to pay blood money, nor anything else.
The questioner : May Allah preserve you. Like the father’s wife through breastfeeding, or the husband’s daughter through breastfeeding.
The Shaykh : Nothing branches from it.
The questioner : The stepdaughter.
The Shaykh : Even the stepdaughter through breastfeeding has no effect. How so? The stepdaughter, what do you mean?
The questioner : I tell you: The wife of the breastfeeding father, may Allah reward you, is like his father through breastfeeding.
The Shaykh : Yes, it has no effect. All marriage ties are not ... through breastfeeding.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : No, no, no. It is finished. No one from the back wants to ask.
The Shaykh : Yes, the majority of scholars, including the four Imams, say that the mother of a wife through breastfeeding is like her mother by blood. Therefore, the husband of her daughter through breastfeeding is a mahram to her, just as the husband of her daughter by blood is a mahram. They cited as evidence the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him):
Breast-feeding makes unlawful (for marriages) the same things that blood tie make unlawful.
يحرم من الرضاع ما يحرم من النسبBreast-feeding makes unlawful (for marriages) the same things that blood tie make unlawful.
يحرم من الرضاع ما يحرم من النسبThe remaining question is: Is it permissible for a man, if his wife dies, to marry her mother through breastfeeding or her daughter through breastfeeding? We say: Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) says, yes, it is permissible because she is not a mahram to him. But I say, from the standpoint of caution, that he should not marry her, because the major disagreement on this issue may require a person to refrain from permitting it.
If someone asks: How do you say he should not marry her while also saying she is not among his mahrams? Is this not a type of contradiction? We say: There is no harm. In the case of caution, we combine the two rulings. Our evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) judged in favor of the boy in the dispute between 'Abd ibn Zuma'ah and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. He judged in favor of whom? He judged in favor of Zuma'ah, making him the brother of Sawdah, and Sawdah was the wife of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a clear resemblance to 'Utbah in this boy, he said to his wife:
Veil yourself from him
احتجبي منهThe questioner : Is there anything to follow?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : There are branching matters.
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : Are there branching matters from these matters, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : Does anything attach to it?
The Shaykh : No, no. Inheritance, by consensus, is not affected by breastfeeding. Consensus holds that it does not affect inheritance, nor the obligation of financial maintenance, nor the obligation of the 'aqilah (kin group) to pay blood money, nor anything else.
The questioner : May Allah preserve you. Like the father’s wife through breastfeeding, or the husband’s daughter through breastfeeding.
The Shaykh : Nothing branches from it.
The questioner : The stepdaughter.
The Shaykh : Even the stepdaughter through breastfeeding has no effect. How so? The stepdaughter, what do you mean?
The questioner : I tell you: The wife of the breastfeeding father, may Allah reward you, is like his father through breastfeeding.
The Shaykh : Yes, it has no effect. All marriage ties are not ... through breastfeeding.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : No, no, no. It is finished. No one from the back wants to ask.