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What is the jurisprudential position of the father regarding an orphaned girl whom he sponsors and his wife breastfed along with his daughter? Will this father be considered a father to her or a stranger? What are the limits of interaction with her in this case? And will his son be her brother through breastfeeding?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Whoever sponsors an orphan attains a great reward. If your wife breastfeeds the orphan girl five full feedings before she completes two years of age, she becomes your daughter through suckling, and all the prohibitions of mahram that apply to your biological daughter will apply to her, and your son will be her brother. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Indeed, suckling makes unlawful what lineage makes unlawful," and "What is unlawful by lineage is unlawful by suckling." However, you will not be her guardian in marriage due to this suckling.

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

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