Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
➊ Narrated by ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
الرضاعة تحرم ما تحرم الولادة
"Breastfeeding makes unlawful what is made unlawful by birth (lineage)."
[Bukhari: 5099, Book of Nikah; Muwaṭṭa: 2/601; Muslim: 1444; Nasa’i: 6/102; Darmi: 2/155; ‘Abd al-Razzaq: 7/476; Abu Yaʿla: 7/338; Bayhaqi: 7/159]
➋ Narrated by ʿAlī رضي الله عنه:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إن الله حرم من الرضاعة ما حرم من النسب
"Indeed, Allah has prohibited through breastfeeding what He has prohibited through lineage."
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Irwā’ al-Ghalīl: 6/284; Tirmidhi: 1146, Book of Riḍāʿah: Chapter on What is Prohibited by Breastfeeding; Ahmad: 1/131]
✔ Ibn Qudāmah رحمه الله:
Every woman who is forbidden due to lineage is also forbidden due to breastfeeding. These include:
Mothers, daughters, sisters, paternal aunts, maternal aunts, nieces (brother’s and sister’s daughters).
(It should be noted that the same detailed rulings apply here as were mentioned previously regarding prohibitions due to lineage.)
[Al-Mughnī: 9/519]
✔ Imām Nawawi رحمه الله:
There is consensus (ijmāʿ) of the Ummah on the prohibition established between the child and the woman who breastfed him.
Undoubtedly, he becomes her son through breastfeeding, and it becomes permanently forbidden for him to marry her.
[Sharḥ Muslim: 5/274]
Just as lineage-based relationships create permanent prohibitions in marriage (maḥramiyyah), breastfeeding also creates the same level of prohibition. This is based on authentic narrations and agreed upon by the scholars of the Ummah.
❖ Breastfeeding (Riḍā‘ah) is Equivalent to Lineage (Nasab) in Establishing Prohibited Relationships
➊ Narrated by ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
الرضاعة تحرم ما تحرم الولادة
"Breastfeeding makes unlawful what is made unlawful by birth (lineage)."
[Bukhari: 5099, Book of Nikah; Muwaṭṭa: 2/601; Muslim: 1444; Nasa’i: 6/102; Darmi: 2/155; ‘Abd al-Razzaq: 7/476; Abu Yaʿla: 7/338; Bayhaqi: 7/159]
➋ Narrated by ʿAlī رضي الله عنه:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إن الله حرم من الرضاعة ما حرم من النسب
"Indeed, Allah has prohibited through breastfeeding what He has prohibited through lineage."
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Irwā’ al-Ghalīl: 6/284; Tirmidhi: 1146, Book of Riḍāʿah: Chapter on What is Prohibited by Breastfeeding; Ahmad: 1/131]
❖ Scholarly Commentary
✔ Ibn Qudāmah رحمه الله:
Every woman who is forbidden due to lineage is also forbidden due to breastfeeding. These include:
Mothers, daughters, sisters, paternal aunts, maternal aunts, nieces (brother’s and sister’s daughters).
(It should be noted that the same detailed rulings apply here as were mentioned previously regarding prohibitions due to lineage.)
[Al-Mughnī: 9/519]
✔ Imām Nawawi رحمه الله:
There is consensus (ijmāʿ) of the Ummah on the prohibition established between the child and the woman who breastfed him.
Undoubtedly, he becomes her son through breastfeeding, and it becomes permanently forbidden for him to marry her.
[Sharḥ Muslim: 5/274]
Summary:
Just as lineage-based relationships create permanent prohibitions in marriage (maḥramiyyah), breastfeeding also creates the same level of prohibition. This is based on authentic narrations and agreed upon by the scholars of the Ummah.
