The hadith states that Hazrat Aisha (RA) narrated that Sahla bint Suhail (RA) came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: O Messenger of Allah! I see a change in the face of my husband Abu Hudhaifa (RA) because of the presence of Salim (RA) in the house, even though he is his ally. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Give him milk to drink." She asked: How can I give him milk to drink when he is a grown man? The Messenger of Allah ﷺ smiled and said: "I know very well that he is a grown man."
Reference: (Sahih Muslim: 1453)
Is it reasonable that the Prophet ﷺ would order a woman to breastfeed a grown man in this way!
First Point
First, it is necessary to understand what breastfeeding (Rada'a) is and what its rulings and issues are. Rada'a means to breastfeed. In an excellent classical Arabic lexicon "Taj al-Arus," this word is used as follows:
رَضَعَ ثَدْيَ أُمّه
Translation: He drank milk from his mother's breasts.
It is necessary to clarify here that the meaning of breastfeeding (Rida'at) is not "sucking," but it falls under the category of feeding because if the meaning of this word was only sucking from the breasts, then only this word would have been used in the sentence, and the breasts would not have been mentioned again in the same sentence. That is, it would have been said: (رَضَعَ أُمَّه) or (رَضَعَ مِن أُمّه).
Ibn Qudamah, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
"Imam Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him, says: Feeding milk through the nose and putting milk into the child's throat without the child attaching to the breast is also like breastfeeding."
Reference: Al-Mughni (11/313)
Regarding the rulings of breastfeeding, Allah Almighty's command is:
وَالْوَالِدَاتُ يُرْضِعْنَ أَوْلَادَهُنَّ حَوْلَيْنِ كَامِلَيْنِ لِمَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُتِمَّ الرَّضَاعَةَ
Reference: (Surah Al-Baqarah: 233)
Translation: Mothers shall breastfeed their children for two complete years for those who intend to complete the breastfeeding period.
So from this blessed verse, it is understood that the duration of breastfeeding is two years.
Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, states in his Tafsir: "For mothers, there is guidance from Allah, the Exalted, to complete the breastfeeding of their children and to breastfeed them for two years." See:
Reference: Tafsir Ibn Kathir (1/633-634)
.In this way, it is mentioned in the hadith that the Prophet ﷺ said:
إنَّ الرَّضاعةَ يَحْرُمُ منها ما يحرُمُ من الوَلادة
Reference: (Sahih Bukhari: 2646)
Translation: All the relationships that are forbidden due to blood relation also become forbidden through breastfeeding.
So from this hadith, it is understood that relatives by breastfeeding also become mahram.
Second Point
Although the content of this hadith is extraordinary, because it was a specific ruling that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, issued by the command of Allah in view of the circumstances, and it was specific to that case (situation), as most of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, understood, and this is also clear from the context of the hadith:
Observe the Hadith: It is narrated from Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that Abu Hudhaifa (may Allah be pleased with him) had a freed slave named Salim (may Allah be pleased with him), whom he had raised like his own child. Salim used to live in the house with Abu Hudhaifa and his wife. Hazrat Suhailah bint Suhail (may Allah be pleased with her) came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: Salim has grown up like other men and has begun to understand matters that men understand. He comes to us, and I feel that Abu Hudhaifa finds this unpleasant. The Prophet ﷺ said to her: Feed him (in some narrations, five times) with milk so that he becomes unlawful for you. Suhailah said: But he has a beard. The Prophet ﷺ smiled and said: I know. Then the displeasure in Abu Hudhaifa’s heart will also go away. She came again and said: I have fed him milk, and the displeasure in Abu Hudhaifa’s heart is also diminishing. (A conceptual translation has been provided to cover all narrations.)
See:
Reference: (Sahih Muslim 3601, Muwatta Imam Malik 229/2, Musnad Ahmad 601/6, Mustadrak 226/3, Musannaf Abdul Razzaq No: 1334, Al-Tabarani Al-Kabir 69/7)
Third Point
The main point of objection is to understand that the act of suckling was performed directly in this incident. Firstly, it is inconceivable that the Prophet ﷺ would have ordered them to suckle directly!
Secondly, this is also contrary to the incident because, as the Imams have explicitly stated, they were made to suckle from a vessel.
Imam Ibn Sa’d
Reference: (died 230)
narrates regarding this that milk was taken out in a vessel daily, and Salim رضي الله عنه would drink from it for five days. See:
Reference: Al-Tabaqat Al-Kubra (8/271)
.And as clarified in the first point, the meaning of suckling is not only to feed milk directly from the breast but all forms of feeding milk are included in suckling.
The commentators of the Hadith have mentioned this permission with this very meaning and understanding:
◄ Imam Ibn Abd al-Barr says: (His breastfeeding was such that he was given milk. As far as the woman directly breastfeeding him from her breast as she does with a child, this is absolutely not appropriate according to the scholars). See:
Reference: Al-Istidhkar (6/255), Al-Tamhid (8/257)
.◄ Qadi Iyad says: (Perhaps Salim drank Suhaila’s milk without touching the breast because looking at or touching certain parts of the breast is not permissible).
Reference: Sharh al-Nawawi (10/31), and Sharh al-Zurqani on Muwatta (3/371)
.Fourth Point
It is surprising that those who, due to their narrow-mindedness, understood this hadith to mean that direct breastfeeding took place in this incident, have forgotten that after the ruling regarding the adopted (biological) son changed, the person who found the presence of his biological son in the house, which was permissible, unpleasant, did not object, according to the critic, to the "direct breastfeeding" at all; rather, their displeasure continued because of this act. This clearly proves that the method of breastfeeding adopted was not objectionable to anyone.
