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What is the ruling of Islamic law on breastfeeding an adult? And does the wet nurse become a mahram to the man she breastfeeds? And is it permissible for a man to be breastfed by a non-Muslim woman who is not one of his mahrams for the purpose of nursing only, without any sexual desire?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The prohibition of marriage due to suckling an adult is not established according to the majority of scholars. The suckling that establishes prohibition is that which occurs within the first two years of life, based on the hadith of Umm Salamah, who reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Suckling does not establish prohibition unless it tears the intestines in the breast and occurs before weaning."

This is supported by Aisha's hadith: "Suckling is only from hunger," meaning in infancy when milk is the primary nourishment. This is also affirmed by the practices of the Companions, such as Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn Umar, and Umar ibn al-Khattab.

As for the hadith of Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah, the majority of scholars believe it was specific to him or that it was abrogated. Contemporary fatwas also do not establish prohibition through adult suckling. However, others hold that it applies to a case similar to Salim's, which is not possible now due to the prohibition of adoption.

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

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