In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Introduction:
What is forbidden due to marriage is forbidden due to fosterage:
In His Divine Book, the Holy Quran, Allah, All-Mighty, Most Gracious, says,
“Forbidden to you (for marriage) are: your msh3er, your daughters, your sisters, your father’s sisters, your mother’s sisters, your brother’s daughters, your sister’s daughters, your foster mother who gave you suck, your foster sisters, your wives’ msh3er, your step-daughters under your guardianship, born of your wives into whom you have gone – but there is no sin on you if you have not gone into them (to marry their daughters) - the wives of your sons (who spring) from your own loins, and two sisters in wedlock at the same time, except for what has already passed. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
[IV; 23]
‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, was quoted as saying:
“My foster paternal uncle came to visit me; and he asked permission to come in, but I refused to give him permission until I had asked Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH). When Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), came home, I asked him permission, and he said,
‘He is your uncle. So, give him permission.’
I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! It was his wife who gave me suck; it was not he who gave me suck.’ Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), replied,
‘He is your uncle. So let him enter upon you.’
That was after the Veil had been imposed on us. Then, ‘A’ishah said, ‘What is forbidden (for marriage) due to birth (marriage) is also forbidden due to fosterage.’
[Al-Bukhari (4941), Muslim (1445), At-Tirmithi (1148), Ibn Majah (1948), and Malik (1254)]
The above-mentioned Quranic Verse and Prophetic Hadith both show clearly that fosterage makes a foster child a real son of the foster mother and a brother or sister of those who share fosterage with him/her from the same foster mother.
Genetics:
Most up-to-date studies in genetics confirm that kinship due to fosterage is not only real but also transferred to forthcoming generations. Modern genetics also confirm that fosterage transfers some genes from the foster mother to the child.
Such foster kinship, which not only the Holy Quran but also Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), considers as real as that of marriage is scientifically explained by the fact that genes are transferred through the foster mother’s milk to the child. These genes enter into, and mingle with, the child’s cells, forming a new series of genes that can be transferred from the child to following generations.
What scientists say about fosterage:
Geneticists also say that milk contains more than one kind of cells and that the child’s genetic system accepts alien genes, as it is still immature, and adds them up to its original system. Therefore, when a woman gives suck to a child, the genes in her milk enter into the child’s cells and settle therein, reaching its genetic system and constituting a part thereof. That is why Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), says,
“What is forbidden due to marriage is (also) forbidden due to fosterage.”
To wrap up, Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), does not speak out of his own desire or imagination. Nay! What he says is real Revelation from the Lord, Allah, All-Mighty, Most Gracious. All that is mentioned in Allah’s Divine Book, the Holy Quran, and true Prophetic Sunna is scientifically firmly established. Nowadays, it has become well-known to modern geneticists that milk is made up of cells that enter into the child’s tissues and mingle with its original genes and that the child’s genetic system accepts the new alien genes and allows them to become a part thereof. When Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), confirms that
“What is forbidden due to marriage is (also) forbidden due to fosterage”
He does not speak out of his own desire or imagination. Nay! It is, indeed, Divine Revelation that he received from the Lord, Allah, All-Mighty, Most Gracious, Lord of all worlds!
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Creations