so the proof from Allah, exalted is He, obliges him to keep away from her, and he must separate from her; for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Leave her,” and no one is permitted to give a legal verdict that contradicts his ruling.

Al-Shawkani states in Nayl al-Awtar: “The correct view is that one is obliged to act upon the statement of the wet-nurse.”

Al-Sanʿani comments: “This ruling is an exception to the general law of testimony, which normally requires a specified number of witnesses. A similar concession is granted in matters involving women’s private parts, where the testimony of a single woman suffices, because men rarely have access to such situations; necessity therefore warrants accepting her word—and the same principle applies here.”