Adult Suckling - WikiIslam
Adult Suckling - WikiIslam
Adult Suckling - WikiIslam
Adult Suckling
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Adult suckling (Arabic: )َر َض اَع ُة اْلَكِب يِر, or
the act of breastfeeding a male adult, is
mentioned in several relied-upon
collections of hadiths. According to five
hadiths in Sahih Muslim, Muhammad
once plainly instructed the daughter (or
wife -- sources are unclear) of a
companion named Suhail to suckle a
"grown-up" freedman named Salim so
that Salim would become the daughter's
mahram, or a relation whom the daughter
could no longer marry, and thus render
Salim's cohabitation with the family
appropriate and legal.[1] Reports in the
Muwatta of Imam Malik[2] and Sunan Abu
Dawud[3] add that this instruction was
reified by a verse in the Qur'an, Islam's
holy scripture, which was still present in
the Qur'an after Muhammad's death,
indicating that it had not been abrogated
by Muhammad while he was alive. The
report in Sunan Abu Dawud continues
with Aisha, Muhammad's favorite wife,
reporting that while she was
"preoccupied with [Muhammad's] death",
"a tame sheep came in and ate" the scrap
of paper upon which the verse of
"breastfeeding an adult" was written. The
practice, sanctioned by a number of
traditional jurists, is popularly rejected by
Islamic scholars today.
Contents
In the hadiths
Imam Shafi'i, " "َم ا يحرم ِم ْن الِّن َس اء ِب اْلَق َر اَب ِة, al-Umm,
5, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 28,
https://app.turath.io/book/1655 ;
translation taken from: John Burton, The
Sources of Islamic Law: Islamic theories of
abrogation , Edinburgh University Press,
p. 157, 1990 (archived from the original ),
https://web.archive.org/web/2017091414102
8/http://www.hadith-studies.com/Burton-
Theories-Abrogation.pdf
Al-Muwatta 30:12
In the Qur'an
Accounts provided in the hadith agree
that a verse requiring ten sucklings was
revealed, followed by a verse requiring
just five sucklings. The same hadiths
detailing these verses state that the final
verse, having been written only upon a
scrap of paper stored under Aisha's
pillow, was lost after the death of
Muhammad when a sheep entered her
room and ate the scrap of paper. As
noted above, the ruling had been very
unpopular with Muhammad's other
wives. The Qur'anic verse on stoning
adulterers is likewise said to have been
lost in this same incident.
Yahya related to me from Malik from
Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Hazm from
Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman that A'isha,
the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, said,
"Amongst what was sent down of the
Qur'an was 'ten known sucklings make
haram' - then it was abrogated by 'five
known sucklings'. When the Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, died, it was what is now
recited of the Qur'an."
Yahya said that
Malik said, "One does not act on this."
Al-Muwatta 30:17
Responses
External links
Breastfeeding adults in Islam
The Middle East Media Research
Institute on Dr. Atiyyas Suspension and
related matters (with many links)
Article in Arabic on Al Arabia online
with more than 2400 comments
"Breastfeeding fatwa causes stir" ,
BBC, May 22nd, 2007 (archived from the
original ),
https://web.archive.org/web/2020*/htt
p://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/
6681511.stm
References
1. Sahih Muslim, hadiths 3424-3428
2. Al-Muwatta 30:17
3. Sunan Ibn Majah 3:9:1944
4. L. Lavi, "Al-Azhar Lecturer Suspended
after Issuing Controversial Fatwa
Recommending Breastfeeding of
Men by Women in the Workplace" ,
Inquiry & Analysis Series, 355,
MEMRI, June 3rd, 2007 (archived from
the original ),
https://web.archive.org/web/202012
13113417/https://www.memri.org/re
ports/al-azhar-lecturer-suspended-
after-issuing-controversial-fatwa-
recommending-breastfeeding-men ;
see also Al-Watani Al-Yawm, Egypt:
National Democratic Front Party, May
15th, 2007
https://web.archive.org/web/202012
13071552/https://sunnah.com/musli
m/17
https://web.archive.org/web/202101
04022820/https://www.islamweb.net
/en/fatwa/342208/aaishahs-view-
regarding-breastfeeding-adult