And the second view is that one month is calculated by counting days, while the remaining months are reckoned by the lunar crescents. This is closer to the correct view, but it still contains an error. On this reckoning, if the period begins on the tenth of Muharram and Muharram has only twenty-nine days, its completion would fall on the ninth. Eleven days would therefore be needed to make up the month, so the period would end on the eleventh of Muharram. This too is incorrect.

The apparent meaning of the Quran indicates that the mother is obliged to breastfeed her child, because His words, “They shall breastfeed,” are a statement conveying a command. This is a disputed issue, which is why those holding the other view interpreted the verse differently.

Al-Qādī Abū Ya‘lā said: “This command is directed to fathers, because arranging for breastfeeding is their responsibility, not the mothers’. This is indicated by His words, ‘The father is responsible for their provision and clothing,’ and His words, ‘Then give them their payment.’ If breastfeeding were obligatory upon the mother, the father would not owe her payment.”

The response is that the Quran indicates that the child is entitled to breastfeeding from his mother and maintenance from his father. If no other woman is available, breastfeeding becomes her individual duty, yet she remains entitled to payment. Another woman is likewise entitled to payment even if no one else is available.

His words, “For whoever wishes to complete the breastfeeding period,” indicate that it is not permissible to wish to complete breastfeeding, and that weaning before then is permissible if it serves the child’s interests. He clarified this in His words:

“If they both wish to wean the child by mutual consent and consultation, there is no blame upon them.”

This indicates that the child may be weaned only with both parents’ consent. If one wishes to complete the breastfeeding period while the other wishes to wean the child earlier, the decision rests with the one who wishes to complete it, because Allah Most High says:

“Mothers