Muwatta Imam Malik (Riwayat Ibn al-Qasim)

It is narrated from Urwah bin Zubair, may Allah have mercy on him, that the Badri Companion Abu Hudhaifah bin Utbah bin Rabi’ah had adopted (his slave) Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhaifah, may Allah be pleased with him, just as the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, had adopted Zaid bin Harithah, may Allah be pleased with him. Abu Hudhaifah married Salim to his niece Fatimah bint Walid bin Utbah bin Rabi’ah, who was among the first women to migrate and was one of the most virtuous women of the Quraysh in her time, because he considered him his son. When Allah Almighty revealed in His Book (the Noble Qur’an) regarding our master Zaid bin Harithah, may Allah be pleased with him: Call them by (the names of) their fathers; that is more just in the sight of your Lord. If you do not know their fathers, then they are your brothers in religion and your freed slaves. [ الاحزاب : 5 ] Everyone returned his adopted son to his (real) father, and if his father was not known, then he was attributed to the freed slaves. Then Abu Hudhaifah’s wife, Sahla bint Suhail, came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him; she was from Banu Amir bin Lu’ayy. She said: O Messenger of Allah! We used to consider Salim as a son, while I am sometimes in my work clothes or in a single garment, and we live in the same house. What do you think about this? We have heard that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Breastfeed him five times, and he will become unlawful (mahram) to you because of that milk.” (He will become a foster son.) She considered him her foster son. Umm al-Mu’minin, Lady Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, adopted this practice. If she wanted to allow a man to enter upon her, she would order her sister Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, and her nieces to breastfeed him. All the wives of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, refused to allow people to enter upon them through breastfeeding and said: No, by Allah! We think that the permission for Sahla bint Suhail to make Salim her foster son was a special concession for her. By Allah! No man will ever enter upon us through this breastfeeding. This was the opinion of the wives of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, regarding the breastfeeding of an adult man. Abu al-Hasan (the narrator) said: This hadith becomes elevated and connected (marfu’ muttasil) because of Urwah’s statement that (Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, adopted this practice).