Marriage Section · 10 – Secrecy Arising from an Adult Person Suckling Milk
According to a narration from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, and Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, adopted Zayd as his son. Similarly, Abu Huzayfa ibn Utba ibn Rabia ibn Abd Shams adopted Salim, and married him to Hind bint al-Walid ibn Utba ibn Rabia, who was the daughter of his brother’s daughter. Salim was the freed slave of a woman from the Ansar. In the days of ignorance, when someone adopted a male child, they would call him “son” and he would inherit from the adopter's property. Then Allah Most High revealed the verse meaning: "Your adopted sons are your brothers in religion, and your freed slaves." From that time on, children were returned to their original fathers; those whose fathers were unknown became brothers in religion and freed slaves. The wife of Abu Huzayfa, Sahla bint Suhayl ibn Amr al-Qurayshi, later came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and said: "O Messenger of Allah, we considered Salim as a son. I used to live with Abu Huzayfa and therefore saw him in some states [of undress]. Now Allah Most High has revealed verses concerning adopted sons. What do you command me regarding Salim?" The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Nurse Salim." So Sahla nursed Salim five times. Thus, Salim became a foster son to Sahla (and Abu Huzayfa). Because of this, Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, would order that men who wished to visit or enter the homes of her nieces and daughters of her brothers be fostered by women. If someone was adopted after reaching adulthood, they were nursed five times, then they could enter Aisha’s presence. The other wives of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would not allow anyone from the people to nurse in this manner unless they had been nursed while in the cradle. And they would say to Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her: "We do not know for certain, but perhaps what the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, did regarding Sahla nursing Salim was a special dispensation just for Salim; it did not apply generally to the people." [90]
EXPLANATION
Does the nursing of an adult person establish *Rada* (foster relationship)? Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, accepted this, while the other wives of the Prophet did not. Salim drank the milk of Sahla, which was milked into a container, five times and became her son. The other wives of the Prophet considered this dispensation to have been a special favor given only to Salim. Shafi'i derived from this hadith that for *Rada* to be established, it is necessary for the woman to nurse the person at least five times. Most scholars believe that this hadith pertains specifically to Salim or has been abrogated. The verse mentioned in the text is the third verse of Surah al-Ahzab.