Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amn Pūrī
A woman married a man whose maternal grandmother she had breastfed from. Is their marriage valid?
If the woman breastfed from the man’s maternal grandmother at least five times within the breastfeeding period, then the prohibition of Riḍāʿah is established.
This is because the woman becomes the man’s foster maternal aunt (رضاعی خالہ).
Just as marriage to a biological maternal aunt is prohibited, so too is marriage to a foster maternal aunt.
If the marriage has already occurred and the Riḍāʿah relationship is discovered later, then immediate separation is required.
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وَخَالَاتُكُمْ
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“…And [forbidden to you in marriage are] your maternal aunts.”
Surah al-Nisā’ (4:23)
This verse applies equally to both biological and foster maternal aunts, as the legal ruling is the same in both cases.
✦ A woman who nursed from a man’s grandmother becomes his foster aunt.
✦ Marriage to one’s foster aunt is forbidden just like with a biological aunt.
✦ If such a marriage takes place unknowingly, it must be annulled upon discovery of the Riḍāʿah relationship.
✿ Question:
A woman married a man whose maternal grandmother she had breastfed from. Is their marriage valid?
✿ Answer:
If the woman breastfed from the man’s maternal grandmother at least five times within the breastfeeding period, then the prohibition of Riḍāʿah is established.
This is because the woman becomes the man’s foster maternal aunt (رضاعی خالہ).
Just as marriage to a biological maternal aunt is prohibited, so too is marriage to a foster maternal aunt.
If the marriage has already occurred and the Riḍāʿah relationship is discovered later, then immediate separation is required.
❀ Quranic Evidence:
**
وَخَالَاتُكُمْ
**
“…And [forbidden to you in marriage are] your maternal aunts.”
Surah al-Nisā’ (4:23)This verse applies equally to both biological and foster maternal aunts, as the legal ruling is the same in both cases.
✔ Summary:
✦ A woman who nursed from a man’s grandmother becomes his foster aunt.
✦ Marriage to one’s foster aunt is forbidden just like with a biological aunt.
✦ If such a marriage takes place unknowingly, it must be annulled upon discovery of the Riḍāʿah relationship.
