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What is the takhrij of the hadith: "Do not seek a foolish woman to suckle your child, for milk transmits traits"?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

This Hadith was narrated by Ziyad al-Sahmi with the wording: "The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade seeking a foolish woman as a wet nurse, for the milk resembles [the character of the nurse]." This Hadith is weak and mursal, as Ziyad al-Sahmi and Hisham bin Ismail al-Makki are unknown.

However, it was narrated as a mawquf tradition from Umar ibn al-Khattab with the wording: "The milk resembles him (the child)," with a hasan (good) chain of narration. And it was narrated as a maqtu' tradition from Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz with the same wording, with a sahih (authentic) chain of narration.

Some jurists, such as the Hanbalis and Hanafis, disliked seeking a foolish woman as a wet nurse, relying on experience and the belief that breastfeeding alters dispositions.

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

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