Relations by suckling through her grandmother

31-3-2005 | IslamWeb

Question:

My cousin was breastfed by my grandmother. Does that make him my a Mahram and my uncle? And if that makes him my uncle, does that mean that all his other brothers that were not breastfed by my grandmother, are also my uncles? Or does that mean that only he is a Mahram? For example I can't marry him, but can I marry his brother? Will you be sending the answer to my email address? I would really appreciate that.

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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. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

Whoever suckles the milk of a woman five times or more in a period of two years, becomes her son/daughter by suckling relationship. So if your cousin suckled your grandmother in the manner you mentioned then he had become her suckling son. The ruling that applies to suckling is the saying of the Prophet : "What is prohibited by reason of family lineage is also prohibited by suckling relationship." [Al-Bukhari and An-Nasaa'ee]

If you mean by grandmother, your mother's or your father's mother, then your cousin is your suckling uncle, so he is a Mahram (non-marriageable relative) to you and to your sisters. However, his brothers are not Mahaarim for you, therefore you can marry them.

Allaah knows best.