By what is breastfeeding established, and what are the rulings that follow from it, such as the prohibition of marriage and the like?

The questioner : Naturally, the first thing before I understood the case, I said to her after the evening prayer, "My aunt, and so on," and she is an older woman. She said, "By Allah, my son, I have been crying since morning and so on." So I listened to her. She was saying that a young man came to her daughter, and this young man, she says, she breastfed him.

The Shaykh : She breastfed him?

The questioner : She breastfed him, but she does not know if she breastfed him once or twice!! And it appears that the child's grandmother, or her grandmother, is saying, "Yes, you breastfed him," so it has become, I mean.

The Shaykh : Excuse me, what did he ask about?

The questioner : I am saying the child's grandmother, the grandmother of this child, I mean, they confirmed the issue of breastfeeding, but now they do not have knowledge. Is the breastfeeding five full suckles, or one suckle, half a suckle? Then she mentioned something I did not understand, as if people were telling her. I took from her words that I do not know if the boy burped, so perhaps she means he burped, that he suckled and got full, and after the fetus gets full, I do not know what you call it, Shaykh, I mean, a sound comes out indicating fullness.

The Shaykh : The burp.

The questioner : Yes, so she is saying, "I do not know, my son, whether he burped or did not burp, or so on." I said, "In any case, the Shaykh is not present now, so perhaps you can call at another time." Then I remembered what his name is, and I gave her the number of Shaykh al-S... because she is saying that the engagement has taken place and the distribution of cards has happened and the matter is proceeding, so I do not know, Shaykh, what is your opinion regarding this incident?

The Shaykh : The burping she is referring to is an indication of the full suckle.

The questioner : Yes, and also she does not know if he burped or not.

The Shaykh : Yes, coming.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Yes, the five full suckles are the ones that make marriage forbidden.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : As for if she does not know, then here comes what we say in many cases: a fatwa and piety. The fatwa, as long as we do not know that it is five full suckles, is that it is permissible, because that is the original state, but.

The questioner : The original state, excuse me, Shaykh, the original state is the original presumption of innocence, I mean?

The Shaykh : The original state is that there is no breastfeeding.

The questioner : Very good.

The Shaykh : When we know that there are five suckles, we have moved away from the original state.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : So she, or they, do not know, this is the fatwa.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Piety , and especially since there is a hadith whose context I do not remember now, but it revolves around the doubt regarding breastfeeding.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : It is as if a man married a woman.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : So after the marriage, it was said that there was breastfeeding.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Between them.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : So the husband or someone else.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Doubted the validity of the claim on the grounds that the one claiming that she is his milk-sister is an old woman, so he said to her - peace be upon him - and I remember this textually .

The questioner : Yes, yes, yes, it is the hadith, subhan Allah! It was in front of me, our brother Sami reminded me of it, that he actually said to her: He said - may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him - to her: .

The Shaykh : Yes, yes.

The questioner : From this hadith?

The Shaykh : Since the hadith is in front of you, is the meaning like this, as I mentioned to you?

The questioner : Exactly, my Shaykh, exactly, yes, the story you mentioned is that the black woman, and of course the wording is different this is in al-Bukhari and Muslim.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : The wording of al-Nasa'i also in another wording .

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner to the end of that in many narrations, so from these, Shaykh, the texts, do you not prefer, even in the fatwa, over piety, let alone piety?

The Shaykh : No, because we cannot ignore the considerations I mentioned, meaning his saying in this hadith .

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : It is interpreted as .

The questioner : Okay, Shaykh, this is beautiful, and this is after he married her, so how about before he married her and entered with her? I mean, I say it would be stronger, I mean stronger for distancing or for leaving.

The Shaykh : Yes, yes, stronger, but the question is whether this is from the category of fatwa or from the category of piety.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : It is stronger without a doubt.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : That a person can reverse the matter on you.

The questioner : How, my Shaykh?

The Shaykh : The stronger position is before the marriage takes place, because there is still nothing that has happened.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : As for here, there is an obstacle that necessitates not separating for the slightest of reasons, which is not ruining the marriage.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : I mean, for example, a man contracts marriage with his wife but does not enter with her.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : There is no waiting period, but if he entered with her, there is a waiting period.

The questioner: Correct.

The Shaykh : Because this is stronger in establishing the strong bond between the spouses.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : In any case, since she referred it to Shaykh ..., he will give her a fatwa not to marry, because I forgot, by Allah, what was reported to me, either that it is not required that it be a full suckle, or that the five are not required, I forgot.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Do you have news of something like this?

The questioner : Not specifically, but I said according to your saying about him, I said to our brother Sami that he will give her a fatwa not to do this, the precautions are many with Shaykh Ahmad Jum'a, I mean, he is cautious.

Another questioner : Once, the brother Isam mentioned, he said, but just like this.

The Shaykh : That is it.