The Book of Suckling - Sahih Muslim 1451a

A bedouin came to Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) when he was in my house and said: Allah's Apostle, I have had a wife and I married another besides her, and my first wife claimed that she had suckled once or twice my newly married wife, thereupon Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) said: One suckling or two do not make the (marriage) unlawful.

Commentary on the Hadith

This noble hadith establishes a fundamental principle in Islamic jurisprudence regarding foster relationships through suckling. The Prophet (ﷺ) clarified that minimal suckling - one or two instances - does not establish the permanent prohibition of marriage that results from complete fosterage.

The ruling demonstrates the wisdom of Islamic law in balancing between establishing clear familial boundaries while avoiding excessive restrictions that would cause hardship. The minimum threshold for establishing foster kinship through suckling is five definite sucklings, as established in other authentic narrations.

This teaching protects the sanctity of marriage while preventing false claims of foster relationship from disrupting lawful unions. It emphasizes the importance of certainty in matters of prohibition and the need for clear evidence before declaring what Allah has made lawful to be unlawful.

Legal Implications

The hadith establishes that foster relationship through suckling requires a minimum of five complete feedings to create the permanent prohibition of marriage that parallels blood relations.

This ruling prevents casual or incidental suckling from creating unnecessary restrictions on marriage, while maintaining the protective boundaries Islam has established for family relations.