❀ Shar‘i Ruling on Breastfeeding in Old Age ❀
Source:
This article is derived from the book “500 Questions and Answers for Women” based on the fatwas of the scholars of the Haramain, translated by Hafiz Abdullah Saleem.
What is the ruling regarding a woman who has reached an age of despair (old age), yet upon seeing a crying child, milk flows in her breast, and she breastfeeds the child five times or more during the breastfeeding period?
Does this milk establish milk-kinship (رضاعت) and render the child her milk-son? And in case the woman has no husband at the time, will there be any milk-father for the child?
Indeed, milk-kinship (رضاعت), just like blood relations (نسب), leads to prohibitions in marriage.
Hence, if a woman breastfeeds a child five or more times within the prescribed breastfeeding period (two years), she becomes the milk-mother of that child.
This is based on the generality of the verse:
وَأُمَّهَاتُكُمُ اللَّاتِي أَرْضَعْنَكُمْ
[Surah An-Nisa: 23]
“And your mothers who nursed you...”
Even if a woman has reached an age of despair (menopause or old age), yet breastfeeds a child within the valid period of breastfeeding, milk-kinship is still established.
This is not surprising. Just as it is possible for a child to have a milk-mother without a milk-father, it is equally possible for a child to have a milk-father without a milk-mother.
① A milk-mother without a milk-father:
Suppose a woman breastfeeds a child twice with milk attributed to her first husband, then that husband divorces her.
After completing her waiting period, she marries a second husband, engages in relations with him, and bears a child.
Later, she breastfeeds the same child three more times with milk from the second husband.
This completes five feeds and establishes milk-kinship, making her the child’s milk-mother,
but the child will have no milk-father, as all five feeds were not from the same husband.
② A milk-father without a milk-mother:
Suppose a man has two wives.
One wife breastfeeds a child twice, and the second wife three times.
Though the child has been breastfed five times, it was by two different women.
Hence, the child becomes the milk-son of the husband (as the milk is from the same man),
but the child has no milk-mother, as neither wife completed all five feedings individually.
According to authentic Hadith, five full breastfeeding sessions are the minimum required to establish milk-kinship (رضاعت).
If the child is breastfed less than five times, milk-kinship is not established.
(By: Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen حفظه الله)
(Translator’s Note: Minimum five feedings are required as per Hadith)
Source:
This article is derived from the book “500 Questions and Answers for Women” based on the fatwas of the scholars of the Haramain, translated by Hafiz Abdullah Saleem.
❖ Question:
What is the ruling regarding a woman who has reached an age of despair (old age), yet upon seeing a crying child, milk flows in her breast, and she breastfeeds the child five times or more during the breastfeeding period?
Does this milk establish milk-kinship (رضاعت) and render the child her milk-son? And in case the woman has no husband at the time, will there be any milk-father for the child?
❖ Answer:
Indeed, milk-kinship (رضاعت), just like blood relations (نسب), leads to prohibitions in marriage.
Hence, if a woman breastfeeds a child five or more times within the prescribed breastfeeding period (two years), she becomes the milk-mother of that child.
This is based on the generality of the verse:
وَأُمَّهَاتُكُمُ اللَّاتِي أَرْضَعْنَكُمْ
[Surah An-Nisa: 23]
“And your mothers who nursed you...”
Even if a woman has reached an age of despair (menopause or old age), yet breastfeeds a child within the valid period of breastfeeding, milk-kinship is still established.
- ✔ If the woman has a husband, the breastfed child becomes her milk-son, and the man to whom the milk is attributed becomes the milk-father.
- ✔ If the woman has no husband, and has never been married, yet produces milk and breastfeeds a child, then she is the milk-mother of the child, but the child will have no milk-father.
This is not surprising. Just as it is possible for a child to have a milk-mother without a milk-father, it is equally possible for a child to have a milk-father without a milk-mother.
❖ Examples Clarifying the Issue:
① A milk-mother without a milk-father:
Suppose a woman breastfeeds a child twice with milk attributed to her first husband, then that husband divorces her.
After completing her waiting period, she marries a second husband, engages in relations with him, and bears a child.
Later, she breastfeeds the same child three more times with milk from the second husband.
This completes five feeds and establishes milk-kinship, making her the child’s milk-mother,
but the child will have no milk-father, as all five feeds were not from the same husband.
② A milk-father without a milk-mother:
Suppose a man has two wives.
One wife breastfeeds a child twice, and the second wife three times.
Though the child has been breastfed five times, it was by two different women.
Hence, the child becomes the milk-son of the husband (as the milk is from the same man),
but the child has no milk-mother, as neither wife completed all five feedings individually.
Note:
According to authentic Hadith, five full breastfeeding sessions are the minimum required to establish milk-kinship (رضاعت).
If the child is breastfed less than five times, milk-kinship is not established.
(By: Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen حفظه الله)
(Translator’s Note: Minimum five feedings are required as per Hadith)
