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Rules Regarding the Child Suckling

Rules Regarding the Child Suckling


2471. If a woman suckles a child with the condition which will be mentioned in rule 2481, that child becomes Mahram of the following person:

    (i) The woman herself (i.e. the woman who suckles it) and she is called milk mother.

    (ii) The husband of the woman (for the milk belongs to him);


(iii) Father and mother of that woman and all in their upward line, even if they are milk father and milk mother.

(iv) The children born of that woman, or those who are born to her later.

(v) The children of the children of that woman, however low, regardless of whether they are born of her children or her children has suckled them.

(vi) The sister and brother of that woman even if they are her milk sister and milk brother.

(vii) Paternal uncle and paternal aunt of that woman, even if they are by milk, i.e. suckling.

(viii) Maternal uncle and maternal aunt of that woman, even if they are by milk i.e. suckling.

(ix) The descendants of the husband of that woman, (to whom milk belongs) even if they may be his milk children.

(x) Father and mother of that husband (to whom milk belongs), however high.

(xi) Sister and brother of the husbnd, (to whom mikl belongs) even if they may be his milk sister and brother.

(xii) Paternal uncle and paternal aunt and maternal uncle and maternal aunt of the husband, (to whom milk belongs) however high, even if they are his milk uncles and aunts.


There are other persons also (details regarding whom will be given in the following rules) who become Mahram on account of sucking milk.

2472. If a woman suckles a child with the condition which will be mentioned in rule 2481, the father of the child cannot marry the daughters of that woman, but it is permissible for him to marry her milk daughters, although the recommended precaution is that he should not marry them. MOreover, he cannot marry the daughters of the husband also (to whom milk belings), even if they may be his milk daughters. And if anyone of them happens to be his wife already, his marriage becomes void.

2473. If a woman suckles a child with the conditions mentioned in rule 2481, the husband of that woman (to whom milk belongs) does not become Mahram of the sisters of that child, but the recommended precaution is that he should not marry them. Also, the relatives of the husband do not become Mahram of the sister and brother of that child.

2474. If a woman suckles a child, she does not become Mahram of the brother of that child. Moreover, the relatives of the woman do not become Mahram of the brother and sister of the child suckled by her.

2475. If a person marries a woman has suckled a girl fully, and if he has had sexual intercourse with her, he cannot marry that girl.

2476. If a person marries a girl, he cannot marry the woman who has suckled her fully.

2477. A man cannot marry a girl who has been suckled fully by his mother or paternal grandmother. Also, if his step-mother suckles a girl from the milk belinging to his father, he cannot marry that girl. And if a person contracts marriage with a suckling girl, and thereafter, his mother or his paternal grandmother or his step-mother suckles that girl, the marriage becomes void.

2478. A man cannot marry a girl who has been suckled fully by his sister, or by his brother's wife. And the position is the same brother's daughter) or the granddaughter of his sister or the granddaughter of his brother.
2479. If a woman suckles the child of her daughter i.e., her granddaughter or grandson, the daughter will become illegal for her own husband to marry her, and the same applies if she suckles the child of the husband of her daughter from another wife. But if a woman suckles that child of her son, the wife of her son who is the mother of the suckling child, does not become illegal for her husband to marry her.

2480. If the step of a girl suckles the child of her husband, with the milk that belongs to the girl's father, the girl becomes illegal for her husband to marry her regardless of whether the child is the offspring of that very girl or of some other woman.

Conditions of Suckling Which Causes to be Mahram

2481. The following are the eight condition under which a suckling child beomes the cause of being Mahram.

    (i) The child sucks the milk of a woman who is alive. It is of no consequence if milk is drawn from the breas of a woman who is dead.

    (ii) The milk a woman should not be the product of fornication or adultery. Hence, if the milk for an illigitimate child is breastfed to another child, the later will not become Mahram of anyone.

    (iii) The child sucks milk directly from the breasts of the woman. Hence, if the milk is poured into its mounth, it has no consequence.

    (iv) The milk is pure and unadulterated.

    (v) The milk must be of one husband only. Hence, if a breasts-feeding woman is divorced and then she marries another man by whom she becomes pregnant, if the milk of the first pregnancy still continues from the breast till she give birth to the other child, and she feeds any child eight times with the milk from her first pregnancy before giving birth, and feeds the same child seven times with the milk from the second pregnancy, after giving birth, that child will not become Mahram of anyone.

    (vi) The child does not throw up the milk due to illness. If it vomits the milk, the suckling has no effect.

    (vii) The suckling should be of such quantity that it could be said; the bones of the child were strengthened and the flesh was allowed to grow. And if that cannot be ascertained, then if a child suckles for one full day and night, or if it suckles fifteen times of its fill, as will be explained later, it will be sufficient. But if it is known that in spite if the child having suckled for one fully day and night, or for fifteen times, the milk has not had any effect on the bones and the growth of flesh of the child, then one should not ignore exercising the precaution.

    (viii) The child should not have completed two years of its age, it does not become Mahram of anyone. In fact, if, for example, it sucks milk eight times before completing its two years and seven times after completing its two years, it does not become Mahram of anyone. But, if milk continues from the breast for more than two years since a woman gave birth to her child, and she suckles the child continuously, that child will become Mahram of those who have been mentioned above.

2482. It is necessary that the suckling child should not have taken any other food, or sucked milk from any other person, during one full day and night. However it takes very little food, so little that one may not say; it has taken any food in between, there is no in it. Also, it should have suckled the milk the milk of only one woman fifteen times, and during these fifteen times, it should not have sucked milk of any other woman. And it should have sucked milk every time without a gap, though, if while suckling milk it pause to breathe, or waits a little, in a manner that from the time it started till the end, it is taken as one suckling, there is no objection.

2483. A woman suckles a child from the milk of her husband, and when she later marries another man. suckles another child from the milk of her second husband, those two children do
not become Mahram of each other, although it is better that they do not marry each other.

2484. If a woman suckles several children from the milk of one husband, all of them become Mahram of one another as well as of the husband, and of the woman who suckled them.

2485. If a man has more than one wife, and every one of them suckles a child in accordance with the conditon mentioned above, all those children become Mahram of one another, as well as of that man, and of all those wives.

2486. If a man has two nursing wives, and if, for example, one of them suckles the child eight times and the other suckles it seven times, the child does not become Mahram of anyone of them.

2487. If a woman gives full milk to a boy and a girl from the milk of one husband, the sisters and brothers of that girl will not become Mahram of the sisters and brothers of that boy.

2488. A man cannot marry without the persmission of his wife, those women who became her nieces (sister's daughter or brother's daughter) owing to the suckling of milk. Also, if a person commits sodomy with a boy, he cannot marry his milk daughter, sister, mother and paternal grandmother by means of suckling milk. This rule applies also in the situation where an active partner in sodomy is not pubescent, or when the passive partner is pubscent.

2489. A woman who suckles the brother of a person does not become Mahram of that person, although the recommended precaution is that he should not marry her.

2490. A man cannot marry two sisters even if they may be milk sisters, that is, they have become sisters by means of suckling milk. If he marries two woman and understands later that they are sisters, if he married them at one and the same time, the both marriages will void. But if he did not marry them at one time, the first marriage will be valid, and the second will be void.
2491. If a woman suckles the following persons from her husband's milk, her husband does not become prohibited for her, although it is better to observe the precaution.

    (i) Her own brother and sister.
    (ii) Her own paternal uncle and patenal aunt, and maternal uncle and maternal aunt.
    (iii) The descendants of her paternal uncle and her materanl uncle.
    (iv) Her nephew (brother's son).
    (v) Brother or sister of her husband.
    (vi) Children of her sister, or children of her husband's sister.
    (vii) Paternal uncleand paternal aunt and maternal uncle and maternal aunt of her husband.
    (viii) Grand children of another wife of her husband.

2492. I a woman suckles the paternal aunt's daughter, or maternal aunt's daughter of a man, she (the woman who suckles) does not become Mahram of that man. However, the recommended precaution is that he should refrain from marrying that woman.

2493. If a man has two wives, and one of them sukles that paternal uncle's son of the other wife, the wife who suckled does not become prohibited for her husband.

How to Breast Feed a Child

2494. Chid's mother is the best person to suckle a child. It is better that she does not claim any award from her husband for suckling the child, although it is good that he should reward her for that. However, if the mother demands more payments for suckling than a wet-nurse, her husband can entrust the child to the wet-nurse.

2495. it is recommended that the wet-nurse; whose services are obtained for a child, should be Shi'a Ithna-Asheri, sane, chaste, and good looking; and it is disapproved for a wet-nurse to be a Non-Shia' Ithna-Asheri or ugly, ill-humored or illegitimate. It is also disapproved to entrust the child to a wet-nurse who has given birth to an illegitimate child.

Miscellaneous Rules Regard to the Nursing a Child

2496. It is recommended that a woman avoids suckling any and every child, because it is possible that she may forget as to which of them she has suckled, and later the two persons, who are Mahram to each other, may contract marriage.

2497. It is recommended, if possible, that a child is suckled for full 21 months. And it is not referred that it be suckled for more than two years.

2498. If the right of the husband is not in any way violated by suckling, a wife may suckle the child of another person without the permission of her husband.

2499. If a man contracts marriage with a suckling girl, and the wife of that man suckles her, then it is considered that the wifge becomes the mother-in-law of her husband, and therefore, becomes prohibited for him. Although this consideration is not free from problematic, yet precaution should not be ignored.

2500. If a person wants that his sister-in-law (his brother's wife) may become his Mahram, he may contract a temporary marriage with a suckling girl, for example, for two days, and during those two days, the wife of his brother may suckle that girl as mentioned in rule no.2481. By so doing, she will become his mother-in-law, and thus be Mahram. Buts if the woman suckles that girl from his brother's milk, it is a matter of problematic.

2501. If a man says before marrying a woman, that the woman he is marrying is his milk sister, she is prohibited for him, if his statement is verified as true. And if he says this after the marriage, and the woman also confirms his word, the marriage is void. Hence, if the man has not had sexual intercourse with her, or he has had sexual intercourse but at the time of of sexual intercourse the woman knew that she was prohibited for him, she is not entitled to any Dower. And if she learns after sexual intercourse that she was prohibited for the man, the husband should pay her Dower according to teh usual Dower of other women like her.

2502. If a woman says before marriage, that she is prohibited for a man because she is his milk sister, and if it is possible to verify her statement as true, she cannot marry that man. And if she says this after marriage, it is like the man saying after marriage that the woman is prohibited for him, and the rule in this situation has been given in the foregoing clause.

2503. Suckling a child, which becomes the cause of being Mahram, can be established by the following two ways:

    (i) Information in this behalf by a number of persons whose word is reliable.
    (ii) Two just men testify to this fact. It is, however, necessary that they should also mention the conditions of suckling the child. For example, they should be able to say: "We have seen the child for twenty fours, suckling milk from the breasts of a woman, and during this time he has not eaten anything else".

And similarly, they should also narrate in demit the conditions which have been mentioned in rule no.2481. witness by one man or two or four woman, even if they are just, is a matter of problematic for establishing that the child has suckled from a particular woman.

2504. If it was a doubt whether or not a child has sucked the quantity of milk which becomes the cause of becoming Mahram, or if it is considered probable that it might have sucked that quantity of milk, the child does not become Mahram of anyone, though it is better to observe the precaution.

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