Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Does one instance of breastfeeding establish the foster relationship (raḍāʿah)? Some people present narrations to support this—what is the correct view?
Some individuals claim that even a single instance of breastfeeding establishes fosterage (raḍāʿah). Below is a brief analysis of the evidences they cite:
Narration attributed to ʿAlī رضي الله عنه wherein the Prophet ﷺ allegedly said:
«يَحْرُمُ مِنَ الرَّضَاعَةِ مَا يَحْرُمُ مِنَ النَّسَبِ، قَلِيلُهُ وَكَثِيرُهُ»
“That which is prohibited due to lineage is also prohibited due to breastfeeding—whether a little or a lot.”
Cited in: Jāmiʿ Masānīd al-Imām Abī Ḥanīfah by al-Khwārazmī: 2/97
Status: Fabricated (Mawḍūʿ)
Reasons for Rejection:
① Chain includes unknown and unreliable narrators:
– Abū al-Muwaffaq (author) narrates through Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥārithī, who is abandoned (matrūk) and a liar (kadhdhāb).
– Ibrāhīm bin Jarrāḥ is majhūl al-ḥāl (unknown reliability), affirmed only by Ibn Ḥibbān.
– Aḥmad bin ʿAbdullāh al-Kindī was declared by al-Dhahabī to be a narrator of strange (munkar) narrations.
– Ibn ʿAdī said: "He narrated false and rejected reports."
Lisān al-Mīzān by Ibn Ḥajar: 1/199
② Ḥakam bin ʿUtaybah is a mudallis (ambiguous in transmission) and did not clarify hearing.
③ Qāḍī Abū Yūsuf and his teachers are considered weak by the majority of hadith scholars.
When someone quoted the narration:
«لَا تُحَرِّمُ الرَّضْعَةُ وَلَا الرَّضْعَتَانِ»
“One or two feedings do not establish prohibition.”
Ibn ʿAbbās allegedly replied:
«قَدْ كَانَ ذَاكَ، فَأَمَّا الْيَوْمَ، فَالرَّضْعَةُ الْوَاحِدَةُ تُحَرِّمُ»
“That used to be the case, but now a single feeding is sufficient to establish prohibition.”
Aḥkām al-Qur’ān by al-Jaṣṣāṣ: 2/125
Status: Very Weak (Saghīf Jiddan)
– Narrators include:
① Abū Khālid al-Aḥmar: Mudallis, with no statement of hearing.
② Ḥajjāj bin Arṭāh: Declared weak and forgetful, also a mudallis.
③ Ḥabīb bin Abī Thābit: Another mudallis, without clear indication of direct hearing.
"A little or a lot of breastfeeding establishes prohibition."
Sunan al-Nasā’ī: 3313
Status: Weak
– Saʿīd bin Abī ʿArūbah: Mudallis, without affirmation of direct hearing.
– According to hadith methodology, the narration of a mudallis without clarification of direct hearing is not accepted, except in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muslim (when explicitly mentioned).
Some early scholars did hold the opinion that even one feeding establishes raḍāʿah, including:
However, these views are considered weak (marjūḥ) when compared to clear and authentic ḥadīths, such as:
«لَا تُحَرِّمُ الرَّضْعَةُ وَلَا الرَّضْعَتَانِ»
“One or two feedings do not establish prohibition.”
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1450
This hadith confirms that raḍāʿah is not established by one or two feedings.
① The claim that one feeding establishes fosterage is based on weak or fabricated narrations.
② Reliable and authentic ḥadīths clearly state that multiple feedings are required (at least five distinct feedings).
③ The majority of scholars have accepted that less than five feedings do not establish raḍāʿah.
❖ Question:
Does one instance of breastfeeding establish the foster relationship (raḍāʿah)? Some people present narrations to support this—what is the correct view?
✿ Answer:
Some individuals claim that even a single instance of breastfeeding establishes fosterage (raḍāʿah). Below is a brief analysis of the evidences they cite:
Fabricated or Weak Narration:
Narration attributed to ʿAlī رضي الله عنه wherein the Prophet ﷺ allegedly said:
«يَحْرُمُ مِنَ الرَّضَاعَةِ مَا يَحْرُمُ مِنَ النَّسَبِ، قَلِيلُهُ وَكَثِيرُهُ»
“That which is prohibited due to lineage is also prohibited due to breastfeeding—whether a little or a lot.”
Cited in: Jāmiʿ Masānīd al-Imām Abī Ḥanīfah by al-Khwārazmī: 2/97Status: Fabricated (Mawḍūʿ)
Reasons for Rejection:
① Chain includes unknown and unreliable narrators:
– Abū al-Muwaffaq (author) narrates through Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥārithī, who is abandoned (matrūk) and a liar (kadhdhāb).
– Ibrāhīm bin Jarrāḥ is majhūl al-ḥāl (unknown reliability), affirmed only by Ibn Ḥibbān.
– Aḥmad bin ʿAbdullāh al-Kindī was declared by al-Dhahabī to be a narrator of strange (munkar) narrations.
– Ibn ʿAdī said: "He narrated false and rejected reports."
Lisān al-Mīzān by Ibn Ḥajar: 1/199② Ḥakam bin ʿUtaybah is a mudallis (ambiguous in transmission) and did not clarify hearing.
③ Qāḍī Abū Yūsuf and his teachers are considered weak by the majority of hadith scholars.
Weak Athar from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنه:
When someone quoted the narration:
«لَا تُحَرِّمُ الرَّضْعَةُ وَلَا الرَّضْعَتَانِ»
“One or two feedings do not establish prohibition.”
Ibn ʿAbbās allegedly replied:
«قَدْ كَانَ ذَاكَ، فَأَمَّا الْيَوْمَ، فَالرَّضْعَةُ الْوَاحِدَةُ تُحَرِّمُ»
“That used to be the case, but now a single feeding is sufficient to establish prohibition.”
Aḥkām al-Qur’ān by al-Jaṣṣāṣ: 2/125Status: Very Weak (Saghīf Jiddan)
– Narrators include:
① Abū Khālid al-Aḥmar: Mudallis, with no statement of hearing.
② Ḥajjāj bin Arṭāh: Declared weak and forgetful, also a mudallis.
③ Ḥabīb bin Abī Thābit: Another mudallis, without clear indication of direct hearing.
Weak Athar from ʿAlī and ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd رضي الله عنهما:
"A little or a lot of breastfeeding establishes prohibition."
Sunan al-Nasā’ī: 3313Status: Weak
– Saʿīd bin Abī ʿArūbah: Mudallis, without affirmation of direct hearing.
– According to hadith methodology, the narration of a mudallis without clarification of direct hearing is not accepted, except in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muslim (when explicitly mentioned).
Note:
Some early scholars did hold the opinion that even one feeding establishes raḍāʿah, including:
- ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar
Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 7/466, Ḥadīth 13911 – Chain: Ṣaḥīḥ - Ṭāwūs bin Kaysān
Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 7/467, Ḥadīth 13918 – Chain: Ṣaḥīḥ - ʿAṭāʾ bin Abī Rabāḥ
Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 7/466 – Chain: Ṣaḥīḥ
However, these views are considered weak (marjūḥ) when compared to clear and authentic ḥadīths, such as:
«لَا تُحَرِّمُ الرَّضْعَةُ وَلَا الرَّضْعَتَانِ»
“One or two feedings do not establish prohibition.”
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1450This hadith confirms that raḍāʿah is not established by one or two feedings.
Conclusion:
① The claim that one feeding establishes fosterage is based on weak or fabricated narrations.
② Reliable and authentic ḥadīths clearly state that multiple feedings are required (at least five distinct feedings).
③ The majority of scholars have accepted that less than five feedings do not establish raḍāʿah.
