It is a child’s right to be brought up, a right which imposes a duty on the father namely maintenance, and another on the mother, namely fosterage and custody until the end of infancy. However, in the early modern period, milk kinship was widely practised in many Arab countries for both religious and strategic purposes. Like the Christian practice of god parenting, noble offspring were often sent to milk kin fosterers that would foster them to maturity so that the children would be raised by their successive status subordinates. The purpose of this was for political importance to build milk kin as bodyguards. This was a major practice in the Hindu Kush society. It removes from ‘clients’ their outsider status but excludes them as marriage partners…it brings about a social relationship that is an alternative to kinship bonds based on blood.
The Islamic Shari’ah law has guidelines on fosterage. In Islam, it is mother’s duty, in the first instance, to feed her baby under the Qur’ānic ruling:
“The mothers shall give suck to their offspring for two whole years, if the father desires to complete the term.” (al-Baqara, 2:233); “If ye decide on a foster-mother for your offspring, there is no blame on you.” (al-Baqara, 2:233); “…if they (women you divorced) suckle your (offspring), give them their recompense: and take mutual counsel together, according to what is just and reasonable. And if ye find yourselves in difficulties, let another woman suckle (the child) on the (father’s) behalf.” (at-Talaq, 65:6)
According to the majority of Islamic jurisprudents, it is mandoob (recommended) for a mother to feed her child. She cannot be forced to suckle as long as there is not an obligation. Feeding children with milk is wajib (obligatory) for fathers. He cannot force his wife to suckle; because, the verse “The mothers shall give suck to their offspring for two whole years, if the father desires to complete the term.” (al-Baqara, 2:233) is only a suggestion. However, if the child refuses to suck milk from any woman other than his/her mother, then it is an exception. The Qur’ān has mention about Prophet Moses that his biological mother herself was his foster mother.
“So we sent this inspiration to the mother of Moses: “Suckle (thy child), but when thou hast fears about him, cast him into the river, but fear not nor grieve: for We shall restore him to thee, and We shall make him one of Our apostles.” (al-Qasas, 28:7); “And we ordained that he (Moses) refused suck at first…” (al-Qasas, 28:12)
Unlike Prophet Moses’, the biological mother of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) was Amna and foster mother was Haleema Sadia. Prophet Muhammad treated his foster family as the way blood-relatives are treated in Islam. From the following verse of the Qur’ān, it can be inferred that Allah asked mankind not only to be kind to parents but also to foster mother as well.
We have enjoined man to be kind to his parents. In pain did his mother bear him and in pain she gives birth to him. The carrying of the child to his weaning is a period of thirty months. And when he is grown to full maturity and reaches the age of forty, he prays: “My Lord, dispose me that I may give thanks for the bounty that you have bestowed upon me and my parents, and dispose me that I may do righteous deeds that would please you, and also make my descendants righteous. I repent to you, and I’m one of those who surrender themselves to you.” (46:15)
It is the beauty of our Shari’ah that it laid emphasis over fourteen centuries ago on what is being advised today. Nowadays human milk is known to decrease the incidence of necrotising enterocolitis, improve host defences, digestion absorption of nutrients, gastrointestinal function, and neurodevelopment of the child, and contribute to maternal physical and psychological well-being. Due to this human milk banks have been opened in western countries. However, donor milk banking as conducted in western society is not considered to be ethical in Muslim society, where the milk donor and the recipient are required to know each other. Because fosterage includes the same limits of relationship prohibitive to marriage as consanguinity. Thus any woman who as a result of breast-feeding becomes a foster-mother or a foster-daughter or a sister or an aunt (either maternal or paternal) or a niece, marriage with her is haram. Moreover, one cannot marry his/her foster-parents’ descendants. One cannot marry his/her foster-siblings born from the same parents, from the same father but different mother or from the same mother but different father. It is also prohibited to marry the children and grandchildren descending from them, according to jurists of all the schools.
A’isha reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) was with her and she heard the voice of a person seeking permission to enter the house of Hafsa. A’isha said:
Allah’s Messenger, he is the person who seeks permission to enter your house, whereupon Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: I think he is so and so (uncle of Hafsa by reason of fosterage). A’isha said: Messenger of Allah, if so and so (her uncle by reason of fosterage) were alive, could he enter my house? Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: Yes. Fosterage makes unlawful what consanguinity makes unlawful.
“Prohibited to you (for marriage) are … foster-mothers (who gave you suck), foster-sisters.” (an-Nisa, 4:23);
To conclude, Shari’ah laws including fosterage are in favour of human societies. “Shari’ah” is the path to nourishment.
“Shari’ah” is the ideal based on Qur’ānic injunctions, and by extension, the injunctions from hadīth as hadīth is the explanation of Qur’ānic narrative. “Fiqh” which comes from the Arabic root of ‘fa qa ha’ (to understand) is the human understanding of the Shari’ah, which by its nature is subjective, hence differences of opinion among scholars. Even in the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him), these different understandings came up and wherever the language permitted and there was room, those differences were allowed to co-exist. The ideals remain the same, but the understanding can differ within the framework of our Islamic jurisprudence.
In the uproar for updating the Shari’ah laws, it’s the duty of Muslim Ummah to explore the Shari’ah laws to know how it is the most beneficial code of life for humanity. The law by the Creator Himself cannot be altered or substituted.