My uncle was breastfed by a woman, and another person was breastfed with him. Is this person considered my uncle through breastfeeding?
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The questioner : May Allah preserve you, O Shaykh. A questioner asks and says: My uncle was breastfed by a woman, and at the same time, another person was breastfed by this same woman. Does this person who was breastfed with my uncle become my uncle through breastfeeding? And what is the relationship of my children, both male and female, to him?
The Shaykh : First: You must know, may Allah bless you, that the relatives of the breastfed person have no connection to the breastfeeding. The relatives of the breastfed person have absolutely no connection to the breastfeeding. If a person is breastfed by a woman, his brothers do not become her sons, and they have no relationship with her. Do you understand? For example, if Zayd is breastfed by a woman named Zaynab, Zayd’s brothers have no relationship with Zaynab, because they are not her sons, nor her brothers, nor her uncles, nor anything else. So in the example you just mentioned, the brothers of the breastfed person have no relationship with the woman who breastfed their brother, nor with her children. It is permissible for one of the brothers of the breastfed person to marry the daughters of the woman who breastfed their brother, because they have no relationship with her. Do you understand or not? This is your question now. But you must know that breastfeeding is not considered valid unless it is five suckles, as Muslim narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said:Sahih Muslim 1452a Therefore, it is necessary that the nursing mother or the one who witnessed the breastfeeding be certain that the breastfeeding occurred five times. If they say: “He was breastfed, but we do not know,” then there is no consideration for it; there is no consideration for the breastfeeding. And if they say: “He was breastfed four times,” do you complete it? What is completing it? Is there consideration for it or not? There is no consideration for it. It must be five suckles. Three? No consideration for it. Two? No consideration for it. One? No consideration for it. It must be five known suckles, as stated in the hadith. So those in doubt are not considered. Yes.
The questioner : Shaykh, his question now says: The daughters of the daughters of this person whose uncle is through breastfeeding, are they...
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : The daughters of this person... is he an uncle through breastfeeding?
The Shaykh : If two people are breastfed by a woman, they become brothers, and each one becomes an uncle to the other’s children, both male and female. Yes.
The Shaykh : First: You must know, may Allah bless you, that the relatives of the breastfed person have no connection to the breastfeeding. The relatives of the breastfed person have absolutely no connection to the breastfeeding. If a person is breastfed by a woman, his brothers do not become her sons, and they have no relationship with her. Do you understand? For example, if Zayd is breastfed by a woman named Zaynab, Zayd’s brothers have no relationship with Zaynab, because they are not her sons, nor her brothers, nor her uncles, nor anything else. So in the example you just mentioned, the brothers of the breastfed person have no relationship with the woman who breastfed their brother, nor with her children. It is permissible for one of the brothers of the breastfed person to marry the daughters of the woman who breastfed their brother, because they have no relationship with her. Do you understand or not? This is your question now. But you must know that breastfeeding is not considered valid unless it is five suckles, as Muslim narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said:
it had been revealed in the Holy Qur'an that ten clear sucklings make the marriage unlawful, then it was abrogated (and substituted) by five sucklings
كان فيما أنزل من القرآن عشر رضعات معلومات يحرمن فنسخن بخمس رضعات معلوماتThe questioner : Shaykh, his question now says: The daughters of the daughters of this person whose uncle is through breastfeeding, are they...
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : The daughters of this person... is he an uncle through breastfeeding?
The Shaykh : If two people are breastfed by a woman, they become brothers, and each one becomes an uncle to the other’s children, both male and female. Yes.