Ruling on Marriage After Breastfeeding from Paternal Uncle's Wife (Tāʾī) – In Light of the Qur’an and Sunnah
Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, Pg. 732
What is the ruling from the scholars of Islam regarding a man who drank his paternal uncle’s wife’s (tāʾī’s) milk? Does he have the Sharʿī right to marry any of her daughters? Kindly issue a fatwa based on the Qur’an and Sunnah. May you be rewarded.
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Ammā baʿd:
If the question is accurate and true, then the issue is clarified as follows:
﴿حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ أُمَّهَاتُكُمْ وَبَنَاتُكُمْ وَأَخَوَاتُكُمْ وَعَمَّاتُكُمْ وَخَالَاتُكُمْ وَبَنَاتُ الْأَخِ وَبَنَاتُ الْأُخْتِ وَأُمَّهَاتُكُمُ اللَّاتِي أَرْضَعْنَكُمْ وَأَخَوَاتُكُم مِّنَ الرَّضَاعَةِ﴾
“Forbidden to you (for marriage) are: your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your paternal aunts, your maternal aunts, your brothers’ daughters, your sisters’ daughters, your mothers who nursed you, and your milk-sisters…”
(Surah al-Nisāʾ: 23)
This verse shows that just as one’s biological mother and sister are forbidden, so are the nursing (milk) mother and milk-sister.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī includes the following:
“Chapter: Mothers Who Nursed You – Whatever is made unlawful by lineage is also made unlawful by breastfeeding.”
Then, Imām al-Bukhārī narrates the following ḥadīth:
From ʿĀmirah bint ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, who reported that ʿĀʾishah, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ, said:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was with me when he heard the voice of a man asking permission to enter the house of Ḥafṣah. I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! A man is seeking permission to enter your house.’ He ﷺ said, ‘It appears to be so-and-so, Ḥafṣah’s maternal uncle by breastfeeding.’ Then the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Breastfeeding makes unlawful what is made unlawful by birth.’”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Vol. 2, Pg. 264)
From this verse and ḥadīth, it is established that:
◈ Just as marriage to a biological sister is ḥarām,
◈ Marriage to a milk-sister is also permanently ḥarām.
➤ The prohibition due to breastfeeding (raḍāʿah) applies only if:
If the milk was consumed after two years of age, or only once or twice, then the legal status of breastfeeding does not apply, and marriage would not be prohibited in such a case.
Since the man in question drank the milk of his tāʾī (paternal uncle’s wife), he becomes her milk-son, and her daughters become his milk-sisters.
Therefore, he is not permitted under Islamic law to marry any of her daughters, as milk-sisters are permanently forbidden for marriage.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, Pg. 732❖ Question:
What is the ruling from the scholars of Islam regarding a man who drank his paternal uncle’s wife’s (tāʾī’s) milk? Does he have the Sharʿī right to marry any of her daughters? Kindly issue a fatwa based on the Qur’an and Sunnah. May you be rewarded.
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Ammā baʿd:
If the question is accurate and true, then the issue is clarified as follows:
❖ Qur’anic Evidence:
﴿حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ أُمَّهَاتُكُمْ وَبَنَاتُكُمْ وَأَخَوَاتُكُمْ وَعَمَّاتُكُمْ وَخَالَاتُكُمْ وَبَنَاتُ الْأَخِ وَبَنَاتُ الْأُخْتِ وَأُمَّهَاتُكُمُ اللَّاتِي أَرْضَعْنَكُمْ وَأَخَوَاتُكُم مِّنَ الرَّضَاعَةِ﴾
“Forbidden to you (for marriage) are: your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your paternal aunts, your maternal aunts, your brothers’ daughters, your sisters’ daughters, your mothers who nursed you, and your milk-sisters…”
(Surah al-Nisāʾ: 23)This verse shows that just as one’s biological mother and sister are forbidden, so are the nursing (milk) mother and milk-sister.
❖ Evidence from Hadith:
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī includes the following:
“Chapter: Mothers Who Nursed You – Whatever is made unlawful by lineage is also made unlawful by breastfeeding.”
Then, Imām al-Bukhārī narrates the following ḥadīth:
From ʿĀmirah bint ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, who reported that ʿĀʾishah, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ, said:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was with me when he heard the voice of a man asking permission to enter the house of Ḥafṣah. I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! A man is seeking permission to enter your house.’ He ﷺ said, ‘It appears to be so-and-so, Ḥafṣah’s maternal uncle by breastfeeding.’ Then the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Breastfeeding makes unlawful what is made unlawful by birth.’”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Vol. 2, Pg. 264)❖ Legal Explanation:
From this verse and ḥadīth, it is established that:
◈ Just as marriage to a biological sister is ḥarām,
◈ Marriage to a milk-sister is also permanently ḥarām.
❖ Conditions for Prohibition Due to Breastfeeding:
➤ The prohibition due to breastfeeding (raḍāʿah) applies only if:
- Breastfeeding occurred within the first two years of life,
- The child suckled at least five separate times from the nursing woman.
If the milk was consumed after two years of age, or only once or twice, then the legal status of breastfeeding does not apply, and marriage would not be prohibited in such a case.
Final Verdict:
Since the man in question drank the milk of his tāʾī (paternal uncle’s wife), he becomes her milk-son, and her daughters become his milk-sisters.
Therefore, he is not permitted under Islamic law to marry any of her daughters, as milk-sisters are permanently forbidden for marriage.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
