Details on the issue of the causes of prohibition through breastfeeding, lineage, and affinity.

The Shaykh : The causes of prohibition are three: lineage, breastfeeding, and affinity. All of them are mentioned in the Qur'an. These are all lineage. This is breastfeeding. This is affinity. And His statement before this verse, is also affinity. So the causes of prohibition became three: lineage, breastfeeding, and affinity. For this reason, Allah grouped breastfeeding with lineage because it resembles it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, This is from lineage. Is the mother from breastfeeding prohibited or not? It is prohibited. Your daughters from lineage; the daughter from breastfeeding? Prohibited. Your sisters from lineage; the sisters from breastfeeding? Prohibited. Your paternal aunts from lineage; the paternal aunts from breastfeeding? Prohibited. Your maternal aunts from lineage; the maternal aunts from breastfeeding? Prohibited. The daughters of the brother, who are the person's nieces; prohibited from lineage, so prohibited from breastfeeding. The daughters of the sister, who are the man's nieces; prohibited from lineage, so prohibited from breastfeeding. So the prohibited women by lineage are seven, and the prohibited women by breastfeeding are seven. How many are these? These are three: the mothers of your wives, your stepdaughters who are in your care from your wives with whom you have had intercourse, and if you have not had intercourse with them, there is no blame on you, and the wives of your sons who are from your loins. The fourth is in affinity. So in affinity, four are prohibited. Four are lineage. Four are lineage. The mothers of your wives, from where?
The student: Affinity.

The Shaykh : No, the mothers of your wives, the mothers, from where? From lineage. This is also clear from lineage because it says "from your wives with whom you have had intercourse." The wives of your sons who are from your loins, this is also explicit and clear that they are from the loins. So affinity does not include anything except lineage only; it does not include breastfeeding. Because Allah said "the mothers of your wives." If someone says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said breastfeeding prohibits what birth prohibits, we say yes, this is evidence that the prohibited women by affinity do not include breastfeeding, because he said "what birth prohibits" and did not say "what birth and affinity prohibit." If he had said "what birth and affinity prohibit," we would say yes, the mother of the wife from breastfeeding is like her mother from lineage. But he said "what birth prohibits." And if you asked anyone, why is the mother of your wife prohibited to you? Is it from birth? He would say no, birth is for her daughter, and the prohibition now is between the husband and the mother of the wife. So the cause of the prohibition is affinity, not birth. And thus, the prohibited women in affinity are specific to lineage, meaning the lineage of the wife or the husband. And supporting this is that he said "the wives of your sons who are from your loins." And the statement that his saying "from your loins" is a precaution against an adopted son is weak, because the origin of an adopted son, when Islam abolished adoption, it did not become valid for him to be a son until it could be said that a qualifier is needed to exclude him. Rather, he is not an original son. So on this basis, his saying "from your loins" is an explanation that affinity is not affected by anything except lineage, the son from the loins. And based on that, the mother of the wife from breastfeeding is not prohibited to the husband of her daughter. And likewise, the daughter of the wife from breastfeeding is not prohibited to her husband. Meaning, if he has a wife who breastfed a daughter before he married her, then this daughter is not prohibited to him because she is what? She is not from the stepdaughters. The stepdaughters are the daughters of the wives from lineage only. And this which we have established is the apparent meaning of the hadith, and the apparent meaning of the noble verse, and it is the implication of the saying of the Exalted, and it is the choice of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him). And Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned in *Zad al-Ma'ad* clear evidence that breastfeeding does not apply in affinity at all. But it remains to be said that the majority of the Ummah and all the Imams are on the position that breastfeeding applies in affinity as it applies in lineage, as lineage applies in it. So how do we contradict these Imams and the majority of the Ummah? We said the reference in case of disagreement is the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Just as we contradicted them in that the divorce of a menstruating woman does not take effect, and the divorce of a woman in a state of purity in which he had intercourse with her does not take effect, even though it is a disagreement with the opinion of the majority, a disagreement with the opinion of all the Imams. So this is like it. But if someone says: Since the disagreement is of this strength, we say the mother of the wife from breastfeeding is not haram for the husband. And on this basis, she must veil herself from him, and it is not permissible for him to be alone with her, and she is not a mahram for him, and all the rulings that are established for the mother of the wife from lineage are negated for him. But it is not recommended for him to marry her except in case of dire necessity. And at that time, we act according to the two opinions, meaning we act with precaution from two aspects. So he does not marry her, out of consideration for whom? For the opinion of the majority. And she does not uncover her face to him, and he does not be alone with her, and he does not travel with her, out of consideration for what is apparent in the Book and the Sunnah. If this were said, it would be a good opinion. And there is no strangeness in that, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) applied two causes in one ruling, as we will mention, if Allah wills, after the adhan. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) applied two causes whose rulings differ. Indeed, Sawdah bint Zam'ah (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), disputed with her brother 'Abd ibn Zam'ah and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas over a slave boy. Sa'd said, O Messenger of Allah, this is the son of my brother 'Utbah ibn Abi Waqqas, he entrusted him to me. And 'Abd ibn Zam'ah said, he is my brother, born on the bed of my father. As for Sa'd, he argued with resemblance, saying, O Messenger of Allah, look at his resemblance. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a clear resemblance to 'Utbah. And as for 'Abd ibn Zam'ah, he argued with the bed, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, If the Messenger had acted according to the cause which is the bed alone, he would not have said "veil yourself, O Sawdah." And if he had acted according to the resemblance alone, he would not have said "the child is for the bed" and given it to 'Abd ibn Zam'ah. So this indicates that when the matter is confused, there is no harm in acting according to both causes from the perspective of what? From the perspective of precaution. Yes, we spoke in the previous lesson about the prohibition of breastfeeding, and we said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, meaning Come forward, O 'Abdullah, a little, to your right, the first row. Yes.