Points derived from the hadith

1. A man must be protective of his wife and female relatives, keeping them from mixing with unrelated men.
2. If he notices something questionable in his household, he should verify matters before rebuking.
3. One must ascertain and record whether the suckling in question actually establishes the prohibition of marriage, for some suckling does not—such as when it occurs outside the legally effective period.
4. The suckling that counts must take place while the child still needs milk for nourishment; this is what is meant by “during hunger.” The exact number of nursings, the time-frame, and the scholarly debate on the issue will be discussed below, God willing.
5. The wisdom behind restricting the effective suckling to that “during hunger” is that, at that stage, the child lives on the wet-nurse’s milk: his flesh grows and his bones become strong through it, so he becomes as though a part of her—like a child she carried in her womb.

Scholarly disagreement
The scholars differ regarding the amount of suckling that establishes the prohibition of marriage.

1. A first group of early and later authorities hold that both a small and a large amount create the prohibition. This is reported from ʿAlī and Ibn ʿAbbās and is the view of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, al-Hasan al-Baṣrī, al-Zuhrī, Qatādah, al-Awzāʿī, and al-Thawrī. It is also the school of Mālik and Abū Ḥanīfah. Their proof is that Allah Most High attached the ruling simply to “suckling,” and the Qur’an likewise mentions it without qualification; wherever the term applies, the ruling applies.

2. A second group maintains that the prohibition is not established by fewer than three nursings. This is the opinion of Abū Thawr, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Dāwūd. Their evidence is the authentic narration that the Prophet ﷺ said: “One suckling or two do not make marriage unlawful.” (Muslim). The clear implication is that anything beyond two—namely, three or more—does establish the prohibition.

3. A third group says that the prohibition is not confirmed by fewer than five nursings. This is the view of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd, ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr, ʿAṭāʾ, and Ṭāwūs, and it is the position of the Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī, and Ẓāhirī schools. Their proof is the report in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim from ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) who said: