Breastfeeding Our Baby Nephew For Socialization Purposes
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Question
My wife wants to breast-feed our baby nephew so that she will be a foster sister to our son, thereby allowing them to socialize as they get older. How much breast milk does my wife have to give? How many times? Before what age? Can it be expressed and given to her in a bottle or does she have to take it directly from the breast?Answer
Walaikum assalam,
The nursing that establishes the rulings:
"Is to suckle the breast of a female human, within a specified period, which is [before the age of] two and a half years, according to Abu Hanifa and two years according to his Two Companions, and their position is sounder." (Tumurtashi, Tanwir al-Absar)
"To suckle," means for at least a drop of milk to go down the throat. (Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar)
Once is enough. It can be given in a bottle.
However, it is not permitted to travel or be alone with one's sister from nursing :
Ibn Nujaym explained in al-Ashbah wa'l Nadha'ir:
"[Among] Its rulings are:
· Unlawfulness of marriage
· And the permissibility of looking, being alone with one of the opposite sex (khalwa), and travel,except someone unmarriageable through nursing, because being alone with him [f: and travel] is prohibitively disliked with them."
Walaikum assalam,
Faraz Rabbani.
This answer was published by SunniPath and is preserved as written. Rulings can depend on circumstances; for your own situation, consult a qualified scholar.
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