A man who was breastfed by his brother's wife: is he a mahram to his brother's wives?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh: A man was breastfed by his brother's wife. Is this older brother a mahram to the wife?
The Shaykh : A man who was breastfed?
The questioner : By his brother's wife, is this younger man a mahram to his brother's other wives? And is this older brother a mahram?
The Shaykh : A man who was breastfed by?
The questioner : My brother's wife.
The Shaykh : Fine, if he was breastfed by his brother's wife, he becomes a son to his brother.
The questioner : But as for his other wives, is he a mahram to them?
The Shaykh : Those who did not breastfeed him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : There is a disagreement among the scholars regarding this, meaning: Is the father's wife through breastfeeding, who did not breastfeed the child, a mahram to the one who was breastfed, or not? There is a disagreement among the scholars on this. Some scholars, who are the majority, say that he is a mahram to his father's wives through breastfeeding.
And Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that he is not a mahram to his father's wives through breastfeeding, because Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:23] and He said: [An-Nisa 4:23] and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Ibn Majah 1937Sahih (Darussalam).
If we were asked by what are the wives of fathers prohibited, we would say: they are prohibited by affinity, not by blood relation. And the hadith only came to prohibit through breastfeeding what is prohibited through blood relation. So what we see is that what Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said is closer to the truth, and that the wives of fathers through breastfeeding are not mahrams to their sons through breastfeeding, or more correctly, that the sons through breastfeeding are not mahrams to their fathers' wives through breastfeeding. And likewise the reverse: your son through breastfeeding, you are not a mahram to his wife, because Allah said:[An-Nisa 4:23]. This is what we see in this issue, and you have learned the opinion of the majority that breastfeeding affects affinity just as blood relation does.
And with this, this meeting ends, because it is time for Brother Musa... to what?
To gather it, bind it, and carry it. We ask Allah for success for us and for you, and until a future meeting, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : A man who was breastfed?
The questioner : By his brother's wife, is this younger man a mahram to his brother's other wives? And is this older brother a mahram?
The Shaykh : A man who was breastfed by?
The questioner : My brother's wife.
The Shaykh : Fine, if he was breastfed by his brother's wife, he becomes a son to his brother.
The questioner : But as for his other wives, is he a mahram to them?
The Shaykh : Those who did not breastfeed him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : There is a disagreement among the scholars regarding this, meaning: Is the father's wife through breastfeeding, who did not breastfeed the child, a mahram to the one who was breastfed, or not? There is a disagreement among the scholars on this. Some scholars, who are the majority, say that he is a mahram to his father's wives through breastfeeding.
And Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that he is not a mahram to his father's wives through breastfeeding, because Allah the Exalted said:
your [milk] mothers who nursed you
أُمَّهَاتُكُمُ اللَّاتِي أَرْضَعْنَكُمْthe wives of your sons who are from your [own] loins
وَحَلائِلُ أَبْنَائِكُمُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ أَصْلابِكُمْBreast-feeding makes unlawful (for marriages) the same things that blood tie make unlawful.
يحرم من الرضاع ما يحرم من النسبIf we were asked by what are the wives of fathers prohibited, we would say: they are prohibited by affinity, not by blood relation. And the hadith only came to prohibit through breastfeeding what is prohibited through blood relation. So what we see is that what Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said is closer to the truth, and that the wives of fathers through breastfeeding are not mahrams to their sons through breastfeeding, or more correctly, that the sons through breastfeeding are not mahrams to their fathers' wives through breastfeeding. And likewise the reverse: your son through breastfeeding, you are not a mahram to his wife, because Allah said:
the wives of your sons who are from your [own] loins
حَلائِلُ أَبْنَائِكُمُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ أَصْلابِكُمْAnd with this, this meeting ends, because it is time for Brother Musa... to what?
To gather it, bind it, and carry it. We ask Allah for success for us and for you, and until a future meeting, if Allah wills.