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Are the husband's children considered siblings to the infant girl whom the stepmother breastfed out of compassion after the stepmother's death?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a woman breastfeeds a girl five known feedings during the period of breastfeeding, the girl becomes her daughter and the daughter of her husband, the owner of the milk (the questioner’s father). All of the woman’s children and all of her husband's children who own the milk become siblings to this girl. Thus, the questioner and all of his brothers from his father become foster brothers to this girl. Sheikh Ibn Baz said: "If a woman breastfeeds a child five known feedings within two years, or more than five, the nursed child becomes her son and the son of her husband, the owner of the milk. All of the woman’s children, whether from her husband who owns the milk or from others, become siblings to this nursed child. And the children of the husband who owns the milk, whether from the foster mother or from others, become siblings to the nursed child." This is supported by the Almighty's saying: (And your mothers who have suckled you, and your foster sisters) and the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) saying: "What is prohibited by lineage is prohibited by fosterage" and "There is no fosterage except within two years," and what was authentically reported from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): "Among what was revealed in the Qur’an were ten known sucklings that prohibited (marriage), then they were abrogated by five known sucklings. The Prophet (peace be upon him) passed away while the matter was upon that."

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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