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Fatwa CenterHis wife breastfed her friend's baby without his permission
Question
My wife breastfed her friend's child (as her friend was unable). But my wife did not inform me or seek consent before. I found out one year later. Is this reason for divorce?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Marriage is a matter of great import. It is a sacred bond and solemn covenant as described in The Noble Quran. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {And how could you take it while you have gone in unto each other and they have taken from you a solemn covenant?}[Quran 4:21] Jaabir 
reported that the Prophet said in the sermon of the Farewell Hajj: “Fear Allaah in respect of women. Verily, you have taken them (in marriage) with the trust of Allaah and intercourse with them has been made lawful unto you by the words of Allaah...” [Muslim]
Shams-ul-Haqq Abaadi 
commented on the Hadeeth saying: “The statement ‘You have taken them with the trust of Allaah,’ means according to the pledge (which you have made to Allaah) to live with them in kindness and affection. As for the statement ‘and intercourse with them has been made lawful unto you by the words of Allaah,’ means that it has been rendered lawful by the Islamic Sharee'ah and the divine commandment...” [‘Awn Al-Ma‘bood]
Given the great status of marriage in Islam, it should not be taken lightly and spouses should not hasten to divorce for the least of reasons. In fact, the reason you have mentioned in your question – that the wife breastfed a child without her husband’s knowledge - belongs to that category. It should be noted that the consent of the husband of the woman who breastfeeds a child who is not hers is a condition for the permissibility of the breastfeeding, whether it is done in return for money or not. This is because breastfeeding denies the husband some of his right to enjoy his wife. The Hanbali scholar Al-Buhooti wrote, “The wife is not allowed to breastfeed any child other than hers except with the permission of her husband … This is because breastfeeding denies the husband some of his due rights over her.” [Kash-shaaf Al-Qinaa‘]
In any case, spouses should live together in mutual kindness, affection, and understanding and should discuss any problems that may arise so that they would enjoy a long stable marriage. Verily, this is one of the most important objectives of marriage being prescribed in Islam.
Allaah Knows best.
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