Conditions for Breastfeeding that Creates a Marriage Prohibition

Question: A man married a woman and lived with her for two full years. Only afterwards did they learn that both of them had been nursed by the same woman in their neighborhood—in fact, she is their next-door neighbor. Does this make the wife unlawful for him, or does it not, given that, as noted, they were both breast-fed by one and the same woman? Please issue a ruling, and may you be rewarded.

Answer: It is firmly established in the Sharīʿah that breastfeeding can create a marriage prohibition, for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Breastfeeding renders unlawful whatever blood relations render unlawful,” and he (peace be upon him) also said, “Whatever is forbidden through milk kinship is forbidden through lineage.” Furthermore, when Allah, exalted is He, listed the women who are forbidden in marriage, He said, “Your mothers who nursed you and your milk-suckling sisters” (Qur’an 4:23).

Nevertheless, breastfeeding is only considered (for the purpose of prohibition) when two conditions are met:

1. The nursing must comprise five distinct, known breast-feeding sessions.
2. All of those sessions must occur within the child’s first two lunar years.

This is the general rule concerning breastfeeding that renders marriage unlawful.

As for your specific case—namely, that you married a woman who was nursed by the same woman as you and that you have already lived together as husband and wife for two years—you must refer the matter to the Sharʿī judge in your region or to an authorized muftī, so that the facts can be investigated and verified. Thereafter, he will inform you of the Sharīʿah ruling, God willing.