Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Volume 1, Page 743
What do the scholars of Islam say regarding the following matter? Please provide a clear Islamic ruling in light of the Qur’ān and Sunnah:
Zayd, during sexual intimacy, out of intense affection, put his wife’s breast in his mouth in the same manner as a child suckles milk from his mother. However, no milk came out, and he subsequently removed his mouth.
In this case, is there any prescribed punishment for Zayd in the Sharīʿah for this act?
Or if he sincerely repents to his Lord, is he absolved from any punishment?
A fatwa is requested on this issue in the light of Islamic teachings.
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
In the mentioned case, the marital bond (nikāḥ) remains valid and intact, because:
✦ Fosterage (raḍāʿah) is only established when milk is actually consumed, and that too by a child under the age of two years.
As stated in:
Muwatta Imām Muḥammad, Bāb al-Raḍāʿah
In his commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله discusses this issue and clearly states:
Such an act is meaningless (لغو) and without benefit.
It is something that must be avoided.
However, this act does not impact the validity of the marriage.
(Kitāb al-Raḍāʿah – Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim by Imām al-Nawawī)
It is obligatory upon Zayd to repent from this improper and pointless act, and to make a firm resolve to abstain from such behavior in the future.
There is no legal punishment in Sharīʿah for such an action, and repentance is sufficient for forgiveness.
هَذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
This is what I hold to be correct, and Allah knows best.
❖ Question:
What do the scholars of Islam say regarding the following matter? Please provide a clear Islamic ruling in light of the Qur’ān and Sunnah:
Zayd, during sexual intimacy, out of intense affection, put his wife’s breast in his mouth in the same manner as a child suckles milk from his mother. However, no milk came out, and he subsequently removed his mouth.
In this case, is there any prescribed punishment for Zayd in the Sharīʿah for this act?
Or if he sincerely repents to his Lord, is he absolved from any punishment?
A fatwa is requested on this issue in the light of Islamic teachings.
❖ Answer:
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
In the mentioned case, the marital bond (nikāḥ) remains valid and intact, because:
✦ Fosterage (raḍāʿah) is only established when milk is actually consumed, and that too by a child under the age of two years.
As stated in:
Muwatta Imām Muḥammad, Bāb al-Raḍāʿah
❖ Commentary by Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله:
In his commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله discusses this issue and clearly states:
Such an act is meaningless (لغو) and without benefit.
It is something that must be avoided.
However, this act does not impact the validity of the marriage.
(Kitāb al-Raḍāʿah – Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim by Imām al-Nawawī)
Final Ruling:
It is obligatory upon Zayd to repent from this improper and pointless act, and to make a firm resolve to abstain from such behavior in the future.
There is no legal punishment in Sharīʿah for such an action, and repentance is sufficient for forgiveness.
هَذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
This is what I hold to be correct, and Allah knows best.
