Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Is it allowed to a husband to suck and drink milk from the breast of his wife?I know the question has been answered several times at your site but I have still confusion because at your site its said to be permissible and in a fatwa by Mufti Ebrahim Desai its said to be not allowed. Please guide us all what is correct one?

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Answer:

Milk foster relation

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: Is it allowed to a husband to suck and drink milk from the breast of his wife?

Beloved brother in Islam, neither is it natural for an adult person like a husband to drink his fill of the milk from his wife’s breast, nor is obviously such an act recommended or encouraged in Islam!

The question that is posed to the scholars of Islamic Law is what is the ‘ruling’ if a husband while sexually playing or fondling with one’s wife happens to accidentally taste some milk from her breast? Does it affect the relationship of the husband and the wife or not?

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.815 Narrated by Aisha

Once the Prophet (saws) came to me while a man was in my house. He (saws) said, "O 'Aisha! Who is this (man)?" I replied, "My foster brother." He (saws) said, "O 'Aisha! Be sure about your foster brothers, as fostership is only valid if it takes place in the suckling period (before two years of age)."

Al-Muwatta Hadith 30.4

Yahya related from Malik from Thawr ibn Zayd ad-Dili that Abdullah ibn Abbas (r.a.) said, "The milk which a child under two years old sucks, even if it is only one suck, makes the foster relatives ‘haram’ (sacred)."

In light of the above guidance, the consumption of a women’s milk will only bring into effect foster-relationships if the suckling baby is in the suckling period, which is unanimously accepted in Islam as being under two years of age. Thus the majority of the good scholars in Islam are of the opinion that if a husband accidentally or voluntary happens to taste the milk from his wife’s breast, it does not effect their relationship or the validity of their ‘nikaah’ in the least.

If a scholar is of the opinion that the accidental drinking of the milk from one’s wife’s breast is prohibited in Shariah Law, or that such tasting of the milk of one’s wife develops a foster relationship between the husband and the wife, or that it invalidates one’s ‘nikaah’ with one’s wife….then it would only be prudent to ask the brother scholar to provide the evidence for their opinion and ‘ruling’ from the Quran or the authentic Sunnah.

To the best of our knowledge, we have not come across any ruling in the authentic and established Sunnah which specifically declares that it is ‘haraam’ or prohibited if a husband happens to taste of the milk from his wife’s breast, or that it effects the validity of their ‘nikaah’, or that it develops a foster relationship between the husband and the wife. And Allah Alone Knows Best.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan