Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 2640
sahih

Narrated `Abdullah bin Abu Mulaika from `Uqba bin Al-Harith:

`Uqba married the daughter of Abu Ihab bin `Aziz, and then a woman came and said, "I suckled `Uqba and his wife." `Uqba said to her, "I do not know that you have suckled me, and you did not inform me." He then sent someone to the house of Abu Ihab to inquire about that but they did not know that she had suckled their daughter. Then `Uqba went to the Prophet (ﷺ) in Medina and asked him about it. The Prophet (ﷺ) said to him, "How (can you keep your wife) after it has been said (that both of you were suckled by the same woman)?" So, he divorced her and she was married to another (husband).

حَدَّثَنَا حِبَّانُ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ، أَخْبَرَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ سَعِيدِ بْنِ أَبِي حُسَيْنٍ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ أَبِي مُلَيْكَةَ، عَنْ عُقْبَةَ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ، أَنَّهُ تَزَوَّجَ ابْنَةً لأَبِي إِهَابِ بْنِ عَزِيزٍ، فَأَتَتْهُ امْرَأَةٌ فَقَالَتْ قَدْ أَرْضَعْتُ عُقْبَةَ وَالَّتِي تَزَوَّجَ‏.‏ فَقَالَ لَهَا عُقْبَةُ مَا أَعْلَمُ أَنَّكِ أَرْضَعْتِنِي وَلاَ أَخْبَرْتِنِي‏.‏ فَأَرْسَلَ إِلَى آلِ أَبِي إِهَابٍ يَسْأَلُهُمْ فَقَالُوا مَا عَلِمْنَا أَرْضَعَتْ صَاحِبَتَنَا‏.‏ فَرَكِبَ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِالْمَدِينَةِ فَسَأَلَهُ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏

‏ كَيْفَ وَقَدْ قِيلَ ‏

‏‏.‏ فَفَارَقَهَا، وَنَكَحَتْ زَوْجًا غَيْرَهُ‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 52, Hadith 4
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 3, Book 48, Hadith 808 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
Islam decreed that breastfeeding should create a bond (i.e., milk kinship) similar to blood relationships and forbids exactly the same which is forbidden due to blood kinship. Breastfeeding establishes milk kinship, and accordingly the prohibition of marriage is established, just like the case with blood kinship. Hence, it is forbidden for a man to marry his sisters through nursing or his nurse-mother, or his maternal or paternal aunts through nursing, and so on. In this hadeeth, the Companion ‘Uqbah ibn Al-Haarith (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that he married the daughter of Aboo Ihaab ibn ‘Azeez ibn Qays (may Allah be pleased with them), whose name was Ghunayyah and was also known as Umm Yahyaa, and then a woman came and said, "I suckled both ‘Uqbah and his wife." This woman informed ‘Uqbah (may Allah be pleased with him) that she had nursed him and the woman he had married. The breastfeeding that establishes establish a milk-mother relationship as per the laws of Islam is feeding a woman’s milk to an infant under two years of age. ‘Uqbah said to her, "I do not know that you have suckled me, and you did not inform me!" He (may Allah be pleased with him) exclaimed that he did not know of that, and that this woman had not even told him that she nursed him before that day! Thereupon, ‘Uqbah (may Allah be pleased with him) sent someone to the house of Aboo Ihaab to ask his in-laws about that, but they did not know that she had nursed their daughter. ‘Uqbah (may Allah be pleased with him) went to the Prophet ﷺ in Al-Madeenah and asked him about it. The Prophet ﷺ said to him, "How (can you keep your wife) after it has been said (that both of you were suckled by the same woman)?" Meaning, ‘How could you retain such marriage and continue to have sexual relations with her despite being informed that she was your sister through nursing.” So, he (may Allah be pleased with him) divorced her to avoid doubts or due to the fact that such a marriage contract was defective. ‘Uqbah (may Allah be pleased with him) divorced her and she got married to another man. The hadeeth urges Muslims to avoid doubtful matters. It is inferred from the hadeeth that it is permissible to travel in pursuit of knowledge. .
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