Back to search

What is the ruling on a deaf and mute woman claiming that she breastfed the questioner's mother, despite the absence of witnesses to the breastfeeding and her family's denial of it?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Here are three issues: Issue one: The testimony of a mute person. Jurists have differed on this. Ahmad and the Hanafis held that it is not admissible at all, while Malik, Shafi'i, and Ibn al-Mundhir accepted it if his gestures were understood, out of necessity. They argued that his gestures take the place of his speech in rulings. Issue two: The testimony of a single woman regarding breastfeeding. There is a disagreement on this between the majority of scholars and the Hanbalis. Issue three: Prioritizing the testimony of the wet nurse over someone who denies the breastfeeding. This has been answered previously. The website prefers the view of the Hanbalis, but since they stipulate detailing how the breastfeeding occurred and the number of breastfeeds, it is advised to consult scholars directly on this matter, because issuing a ruling requires knowing the trustworthiness of the female witness and her precision in describing the breastfeeding.

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

Read the full answer on Ftawy