What Is The Situation Of Couples If It Is Understood After Marriage That They Are Milk Siblings?
What is the situation of couples if it is understood after marriage that they are milk siblings?
In order to consider lactation as an impediment to marriage, the act of lactation must be proven with clear evidences. According to the majority of fiqh scholars, the milk sucked by a child in the first two years, less or more, is enough to establish a milk kinship. Accordingly, it is not permissible for a girl and boy who sucked milk from the same woman even once up to the age of two to marry each other (Sarakhsi, al-Mabsut, V, 137; Kasani, Bada’i, IV, 8). Shafiʽis and Hanbalis say that in order for the milk kinship to be established a child who is younger than two years old must be breastfed at least five times, on different occasions, until the baby gets full and leaves the breast instinctively (Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni, XI, 309; Shirbini, Mughni al-Muhtaj, III, 546).
If the husband admits that he is his wife’s milk brother and insists on it, or this is witnessed by two righteous men or one man and two women, then the married couple is divorced.
In that case, if the couple had any sexual intercourse, the woman deserved the least amount of the predetermined mahr or the mahr al-mithl; if they didn’t, then the woman is not entitled to receive mahr.(al-Fatawa al-Hindiyyah, I, 380-381).
According to the Shafiʽis milk kinship may be proven through four attesting adult women. Again, in accordance with the strong opinion of the said madhhab, witnessing lactation is not considered sufficient to establish the fact that the parties are prohibited to marry to each other. The witnesses are required to declare the counts of lactation and state that the milk had reached the nursed baby’s stomach (Shafiʽi, al-Umm, VI, 94; Nawawi, al-Majmu’, XX, 260).
Hence, unless the conditions stipulated by Shafiʽi madhhab are not met, the couple whom are suspected to be milk siblings may continue their marriage in line with the opinion of this madhhab.
Source: Presidency Of Religious Affairs The Turkey, High Board of Religious Affairs FATWA
