The ruling on one who was breastfed by his brother’s wife an unknown number of times
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Question:
The first message in this episode is one that reached the program from Riyadh, Al-Wizarat district, sent by one of the listening brothers. The sender is: (A. S. S. J. Al-Shahri). Our brother says: I was breastfed along with my elder brother’s daughter, and the number of breastfeedings was not known to our mothers, but they were in this state for approximately three months, and whenever one of them was absent, the other would breastfeed us, according to what my mother informed me. Is this breastfeeding considered valid in the Shari'ah? If so, has my brother become my father through breastfeeding, and consequently, what is the ruling...
The Shaykh: Repeat, repeat.
The presenter: He says: I was breastfed along with my elder brother’s daughter, and the number of breastfeedings was not known to our mothers, but they were in this state for approximately three months, and whenever one of them was absent, the other would breastfeed us, according to what my mother informed me. Is this breastfeeding considered valid in the Shari'ah? If so, has my brother become my father through breastfeeding? And consequently, what is the ruling regarding my relationship to his second wife, from whom I was not breastfed? Also, I have prevented my wife from seeing my brother, and his other wife has prevented herself from seeing me. Please guide us, may Allah reward you and magnify your reward, and benefit us and you with what we hear. He is the All-Hearing, the Responsive. And Allah is the guarantor of success, and peace be upon you?
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:
If the situation is as the questioner described, and neither the wet nurse nor anyone else preserved the number of breastfeedings—whether it was five, less, or more—then the breastfeeding is not considered valid. It does not make you a child of your brother, nor does it make your brother your father, nor does it make him a mahram (a relative one may not marry) to your wife. Nor does his wife become a mahram to you, neither the one who breastfed you nor the other. It is necessary to ascertain the breastfeeding, and that the breastfeedings number five or more. If the wet nurse or other trustworthy women have preserved that you were breastfed by your brother’s wife five times or more, then you are her son, even if the wet nurse did not know the total number of breastfeedings. If she knows that you were breastfed by her five times or more, then you are her son, and it is not necessary for her to know the total number of breastfeedings, whether it was thirty, twenty, or forty; that is not required.
The important thing is that five breastfeedings or more were issued from her to you, or more than that, during the two-year period, while you were within the two-year period. By this, she becomes your mother, and your brother becomes your father through breastfeeding. His children become your brothers through breastfeeding, and he becomes a mahram to your wife, because she is the wife of his son. And his wife who breastfed you becomes your mother, and his other wife, who did not breastfeed you, becomes the wife of your father, and is also a mahram to you. May Allah guide them all. Yes.
The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good.
The first message in this episode is one that reached the program from Riyadh, Al-Wizarat district, sent by one of the listening brothers. The sender is: (A. S. S. J. Al-Shahri). Our brother says: I was breastfed along with my elder brother’s daughter, and the number of breastfeedings was not known to our mothers, but they were in this state for approximately three months, and whenever one of them was absent, the other would breastfeed us, according to what my mother informed me. Is this breastfeeding considered valid in the Shari'ah? If so, has my brother become my father through breastfeeding, and consequently, what is the ruling...
The Shaykh: Repeat, repeat.
The presenter: He says: I was breastfed along with my elder brother’s daughter, and the number of breastfeedings was not known to our mothers, but they were in this state for approximately three months, and whenever one of them was absent, the other would breastfeed us, according to what my mother informed me. Is this breastfeeding considered valid in the Shari'ah? If so, has my brother become my father through breastfeeding? And consequently, what is the ruling regarding my relationship to his second wife, from whom I was not breastfed? Also, I have prevented my wife from seeing my brother, and his other wife has prevented herself from seeing me. Please guide us, may Allah reward you and magnify your reward, and benefit us and you with what we hear. He is the All-Hearing, the Responsive. And Allah is the guarantor of success, and peace be upon you?
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:
If the situation is as the questioner described, and neither the wet nurse nor anyone else preserved the number of breastfeedings—whether it was five, less, or more—then the breastfeeding is not considered valid. It does not make you a child of your brother, nor does it make your brother your father, nor does it make him a mahram (a relative one may not marry) to your wife. Nor does his wife become a mahram to you, neither the one who breastfed you nor the other. It is necessary to ascertain the breastfeeding, and that the breastfeedings number five or more. If the wet nurse or other trustworthy women have preserved that you were breastfed by your brother’s wife five times or more, then you are her son, even if the wet nurse did not know the total number of breastfeedings. If she knows that you were breastfed by her five times or more, then you are her son, and it is not necessary for her to know the total number of breastfeedings, whether it was thirty, twenty, or forty; that is not required.
The important thing is that five breastfeedings or more were issued from her to you, or more than that, during the two-year period, while you were within the two-year period. By this, she becomes your mother, and your brother becomes your father through breastfeeding. His children become your brothers through breastfeeding, and he becomes a mahram to your wife, because she is the wife of his son. And his wife who breastfed you becomes your mother, and his other wife, who did not breastfeed you, becomes the wife of your father, and is also a mahram to you. May Allah guide them all. Yes.
The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.