The Book of Suckling - Sahih Muslim 1450

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon His final Messenger Muhammad.

Textual Analysis

The noble hadith states: "One suckling or two do not make (marriage) unlawful." This concise statement from the Prophet (peace be upon him) establishes a fundamental principle in the Islamic law of radā'ah (suckling).

The scholars have understood this to mean that a minimal amount of suckling does not establish the legal relationship of mahramiyyah (prohibition in marriage). The majority position, including that of Imams Mālik, al-Shāfi'ī, and Ahmad, maintains that a minimum of five complete sucklings is required to establish this relationship.

Legal Implications

This ruling serves to protect the sanctity of family relations while preventing unnecessary restrictions on marriage. The wisdom behind requiring multiple sucklings is to ensure certainty in establishing milk kinship, as isolated incidents may be uncertain or mistaken.

The prohibition in marriage arises only when the suckling is substantial enough to nourish the infant and establish the milk relationship definitively. This demonstrates the balance in Islamic law between establishing clear familial boundaries and avoiding undue hardship.

Scholarly Consensus

Imam al-Nawawī comments in his Sharh Sahih Muslim that this hadith provides evidence that fewer than five sucklings do not create mahramiyyah. This position is supported by the consensus of the majority of scholars from the Salaf and Khalaf.

Ibn Qudāmah in al-Mughnī affirms that the minimum of five sucklings is established by authentic narrations and represents the position of most companions and their successors. This careful quantification reflects the precision of Islamic jurisprudence in matters of family law.