Thursday, June 23, 2011

Adult suckling Breast-Feeding a Man in Islam

Is it acceptable in Islam for a woman to breast-feed a man then stay with him legally in one room?

The answer to this question makes the difference between true Muslims who faithfully follow the footsteps of Mohammed and the hypocrites who modify their religion to follow their desires. Allah described them as such in the Quran: Q.28: 50… they only follow their own desires, and who is more astray than one who follow his own desires…
The issue of breast-feeding men is currently a hot topic in Egypt and has been the focus of the media in many Middle Eastern countries. It all started when Dr. Izzat Attya who is the head of the department of Hadith in Al-Azhar, which is the world’s most prestigious Islamic University, issued a fatwa, or religious opinion. The fatwa declared that, it is legitimate for a working Muslim woman to breast-feed her male colleague to avoid the sin of ‘khulwa’ (staying with a stranger in one room). Similar fatwas had been issued in the past by many sheikhs in many Middle-Eastern countries, but this is the first time it comes from a high level academic of Al-Azhar.
 


The Problem:

 Dr. Attya noticed that Muslim women frequently work with men in the same offices, with the inevitable possibility that a woman may find herself sitting alone in the same room with one or more of her male colleagues, which, in Islam, is a grave sin. Some of these women are deeply religious, but they need to work. Both the state and the society are forcing these women to sin without doing anything about it.

 The erudite scholar of Al-Azhar, Dr. Attya was asked about the previous fatwas quoting a sahih (= authentic) hadith. His answer was that the quoted hadith is certainly accurate and, if necessary, a Muslim woman is allowed to follow the example set by the prophet. 

 We may have different opinions about Al-Azhar and the integrity or political affiliation of its staff, but there is one thing about this institute that remains beyond doubt: its sheikhs (ulama) are second to none in their knowledge about sunni Islam. All other Islamic universities in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, rely on Al-Azhar for academic support. It can be argued that Dr. Izzat Attya is probably the most learned man in the speciality the science of ahadith. He knows every nuance about the texts of the ahadith, their isnad (chain of narrators) and their degree of accuracy. When he says something about ahadith, we better believe him

 The Solution:  



Dr. Attya proposed an Islamic solution that came directly from the prophet. In the early days of Islam, Muslim women faced a similar problem and the prophet fixed it immediately. It all started when Mohammed decided to marry Zainab, the beautiful wife of Zaid, his adopted son, which was impossible under the prevailing laws of Arabia. Mohammed, however, always had under his sleeve the magical trick called the Quran. He ‘revealed’ some verses renouncing the practice of adoption as nonsense and ordered Zaid to divorce his wife, thereby clearing the way for Mohammed to marry her. The plan worked well for Mohammed but created problems for many others.

Abu Huthayfa and his wife Sahla, had an adopted son (a freed slave) called Salim, who used to work and live in the house freely. As Salim was like a son to her, Sahla used to rely on him to help in the housework. She could stay with him in the same room without having to cover herself from his looks.

  When Mohammed cancelled the principle of adoption, Salim became a stranger in the house and could no longer be alone with Sahla, Abu Huthayfa’s wife. The Lady complained to Mohammed who immediately provided her with a genius solution- he asked her to breast-feed Salim, after which she would again be allowed to keep him as a son with her in the house. She said: ‘but Salim is a man and has a beard!’ Mohammed smiled to her and said ‘I know that’. 


 Mohammed’s wife, Aysha, was very happy to hear the news because she also had problems in allowing men in her house. The new ruling came handy particularly after Mohammed’s death because Aysha needed more flexibility in meeting and talking to men about Islam. Aysha was a strong advocate of this practice; she encouraged the daughters of her sisters and the daughters of her brethren to breast-feed those men whom she (Aysha) wished to allow in her home

Dr. Attya’s vision is that women are better off making use of this authorization given by Mohammed and breast-feed their male colleagues to avoid the sin of ‘khulwa’ (staying alone with a stranger).

The Muslims Response:


Muslims are divided about this fatwa;

Minority of them (true Muslims) completely agree with the fatwa for an obvious reason; it has a precedence in Islam that happened during the time of Mohammed. The issue of whether this is morally acceptable or not has no relevance, simply because Allah’s wish overrides man’s wish. Allah says in the Quran 

 Q.33:36. It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger to have any option about their decision…

 Some of these Muslims attempted to soften the impact of the fatwa on the shocked Muslim community in various ways. Some expressed reservations about the way the fatwa was presented to the public while others tried to explain that breast-feeding doesn’t necessarily imply direct contact between a man and a woman. They suggested that a woman could collect her milk in a cup and offer it to a male colleague! This group of Muslims try to reform Islam in their own way, in doing so they forget that women do not always produce milk.

 With anger and embarrassment, the majority of Muslims, however, reject the fatwa. They claim that Mohammed could have never allowed something like that. Needless to say this group of Muslims never heard of the above story before. I do not blame them, because, as a Muslim I myself heard of it only in my later years. Even then, I assumed the hadith was a weak one, which is why I never considered using it as a credible proof of the falsity of Islam. 

 But the hadith is a credible one, and has been reported by sahih books like Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah. Moreover, this hadith has been thoroughly investigated by a number of highly revered Islamic scholars like Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn Hazm and Al Albani. Denying a hadith with such strength would be like denying the existence of main Islamic events like fasting and prayers. 

 Our Response



The Islamic establishment deliberately and consistently hide the ugly face of Islam. The majority of Muslims do not know the magnitude of Mohammed’s violations of the accepted Arabic traditions and moralities. Without much qualm, Mohammed even violated his own Islamic laws to suit his own agenda. Starting from childhood, Muslims are brainwashed to see a polished side of Islam. All of Mohammed’s atrocities, invasions, assassinations and mass murders are carefully presented as justified acts of self-defence against the enemies of Allah. Some of Mohammed’s absurdities, like the hadith above, are deliberately kept in the dark out of reach of ordinary Muslims. 

 Following the media and public outrage, Al-Azhar had to explain its position to Millions of Muslims and Dr. Attya was forced to withdraw his fatwa. In his statement, he said he only echoed the opinions expressed by early highly regarded Islamic scholars, but after extensive consultations with Muslim scholars, he now believed the permission to breast feed an adult was an exception given only to Abu Huthayfa’s wife to solve an exceptional problem, but not to other Muslims. The statement fails to explain what was so exceptional about Abu Huthayfa’s case and why Aysha encouraged it.

 Such a U-turn relieved the Islamic community and the Arab media because, as they put it, the fatwa did not blend well with the high morality and logic known to be associated with Islam. It is laughable that Muslims find it difficult to believe that Mohammed women to breast feed men, but have no problem at all in believing him when he claimed he spent the night with Allah and all his prophets and toured the whole universe. Strange indeed is the Islamic mindset!!

  Addendum  


Saudi Clerics Call For Adult Breast-Feeding
 June 5, 210

 In a surprising development, two senior Saudi clerics today said that Saudi Arabia’s women should give their breast milk to male colleagues and acquaintances in order to safeguard the Islamic law that forbids mixing between the sexes. The clerics, however, failed to reach an agreement among each other on how the milk should be conveyed. 

 Recently a fatwa had been issued in the country about adult breast-feeding to establish "maternal relations" and preclude the possibility of sexual contact. The fatwa has already generated enough debates and it is likely that the debate over such explicit topics may force the Saudi government to introduce stricter regulations about how and when fatwas should be issued. 

 Sheikh Al Obeikan, an adviser to the royal court and consultant to the Ministry of Justice, had recently said that women who come into regular contact with men, who are not their relatives, should give them their breast milk in order to make them their relatives.

"The man should take the milk, but not directly from the breast of the woman. He should drink it and then becomes a relative of the family, a fact that allows him to come in contact with the women without breaking Islam's rules about mixing," Al Obeikan said, according to Gulf News. "
Obeikan’s remarks were followed by an announcement by another powerful Saudi cleric Abi Ishaq Al Huwaini, who asked women to allow the men to suckle the milk directly from their breast.

now The converses on Adult Suckling  ( muhamed's hadiths )


Adult suckling- Narrated Ibn Shehab: when he was asked about adult suckling he said; Abe Hozaifa one of the companions of the messenger of God has adopted a boy named Salem, then when God descended a verse in his book concerning Zaied Ibn thabet abating the adoption saying: call them after their fathers (meaning that to attribute those adopted sons to their biological fathers) , Salma the wife of Abe Hozaifa came to the messenger of God saying: we had an adopted son named Salem ,he was getting into my house while I was wearing one dress , after the adoption was abated , my husband Abe Hozaifa hated to see him getting into my home, while I am in such way, so what do you think?, how can I deal with that? The prophet replied her: then let him suck from you five times, and then he will be forbidden to you (as it was thought that if one sucks from a woman, he will be like her son)? She said surprisingly: how could I suckle him while he is a full grown man? Then the prophet smiled and said: I know that he is a full grown man She went out and followed that advice and allowed the man to suck from her, she came back to the prophet saying I suckled him, now I don't find anything wrong with my
husband any more (1)

 

This story about Adult suckling was mentioned in:
 

- Sahih Muslim , converse number 3663, 3674
- Mawtte' malek
- Sonan Al-Nyssa'y
- Sonan Al-Bayhaky
- Sonan Ibn Majah
- The abrogator and abrogated by Abe-Gaefar Al-Mansour, page124
- And other exegesis



- The Adult suckling issue is among the subjects studied in Al-Azhar University for the
students of the third grade (2)


 - Dr Abdul-Mahdy Abdul-Kader Abdul-Hady one of Al-Azhar professors said about this:
this converse is true and considered among the highly truthful converses , and can't be
denied by any honest researcher, it is considered a medal on the chest of Islam


 Ibn Shehab continued his narration about the Adult suckling saying;" and so, Aeisha
the mother of believers followed the prophet's advice, when she wanted some men to get into her house, she was asking her sister Om' Kolthoum, the daughter of Abe-Baker, and her niece to suckle those men, so by that way she will be like the aunt of them, and they can get into her house freely and be with her (1)permissible for him to get into your house freely, so don't you follow the advice of the messenger of God ? (3)


 - It was mentioned that Aeisha remained in her attitude towards the adult suckling issue, and she was practicing it (4)

- Aeisha supported her attitude saying: there was among the descended verses of the
quran, a verses saying about giving ten known suckling, then that verse was abrogated
by another one saying that they are five known suckling , ant till the messenger of God
Died, this verse was among the recited verses of the quran (5)



- Narrated Aeisha; the verse concerning the adult suckling was in a paper under my bed,
when the prophet of God was very sick (before he died), we were very busy looking afterhim, then a goat came into the house, and ate that paper, and till the messenger of God died, this verse was among the recited verses of the quran (6)



Converses of Aeisha  


- Narrated Aeisha: the prophet married me, while I was six years old, we came to Al- Madina, and went to the house of Al-Harith, I was playing on a swing with my friends, may mother came to me , I had no idea what she wanted of me, she took me by hand and we came by the house door , while I was breathing rapidly, then I calm down, she took some water and washed my face and head, she took me inside the house, there were some women from Al-Ansar, inside, they fixed my look , then she said it is Ok now, then she took me and gave me to him( the prophet),at that day I was 9 years old (7)  


Some say that, may be she was 9 years old, but looks like 19 years old, actually that's not true for the following reasons:


1) she was playing with her fiends on the swing
2) she had no idea of what was going on
3) her mother washed her face and head
4) she was carried from the swing and brought to the prophet (8)
5) the prophet was bringing her friends to play with her
6) it was mentioned that the prophet was carrying her on his shoulders , to watch some of the Ethiopians playing outside


- So is that rational to think for a 19 years old lady to play in a swing, to be carried on the shoulders and to let someone wash her face

- The prophet Muhammad was 54 years old when he married Aeisha the 9 years old 
 child


- Narrated Ibn Hesham: the messenger of God was staying a lot in the house of Aeisha, so his other wives were jealous of Aeisha, and complained about that, they send Om Salma to him, asking him to be fair with them , he told her, don't speak about Aeisha in such a way , the revelation from God comes to me always when I am with Aeisha in bed and not with any other one of you (9)


- Narrated Aeisha: the prophet was reciting the quran, with his head on my thighs, while I was menstruating (10)


While the quran said that the menstruating women should be avoided, and the messenger of God was putting his head on her thighs while she was menstruating!!

 Narrated Aeisha: the prophet came to me one night, while I was menstruating, he said to me come closer. I told him I am menstruating, he said expose your thighs, so I did, he put his head and chest on my thighs and slept (10)

Narrated Aeisha that the prophets was kissing her, and sucking her tongue while he was on fasting (12)


- Narrated Ibn Omeir: I came into the house of Aeisha, with my mother and aunt, we asked her, how was the prophet behaving if any one of you was menstruating? She replied: he was asking that woman to put a loose cloth, and then he was manipulating her breast and chest only (13)


- That converse of Aiesha was accredited by Al-Tourmozy, as he said it is good and true, and so did the rest of companions and followers of the prophet, also accredited by al- Shafe'y and Ahmed (14)


- It was noticed that the converses of Miss Aeisha was about the most delicate and sensitive matters of the sexual life of the prophet


So today's Muslims should realize there was freedom of expression about the special life of Muhammad, even those concerning his bed , and knowing that stories narrated by Aiesha will give us full idea about who was Muhammad , his characters and ethics


- It was mentioned that Abdullah Ibn Omer sent to Aeisha asking her: could a man have relationship with his wife, while she is menstruating? She said: yes she can pull down her clothes, and then he can have relationship with her (15)


The man didn't fell embarrassed to ask such sexual question to the wife of the prophet


- Narrated Aeisha: the prophet was making sex (f*** her)  with me while I was menstruating, while we were under the same blanket (16)

- Aeisha was speaking with men about how to make love with their wives and what they should do (17)


Aeisha told Abdullah Bin Abdul-Rahman when he came into her house: what prevents you from kissing your wife and fondling her, he said how could I kiss her while I am on fasting? , she said no problem of that, the messenger of God was kissing me and sucking my tongue while he was fasting


So Aeisha was a marital advisor for husbands about the marital relationship, she was not just answering their questions, but she was giving them advises

The messenger of God forbade for the man to speak with people about his sexual relationship with his wife, and he forbade the woman to speak to people about what is happening between her and her husband , he said don't do that , as doing that is like a male devil met a female devil and had sexual relationship together while the people were watching them So how the prophet forbade that speaking, while Aeisha mentioned the very fine details of her sexual life with the prophet, and she was discussing with men their marital relationships with their wives
Isn't that very strange??


References:



 (1) Mawtte' malek, converse number 1287
(2) "Answering skepticism on the Mohammedan Sunnah" by Dr Abdul-Mahdy Abdul-
Kader Abdul-Hady, page.97.103
(3) Sahih Muslim, converse number 3676
(4) The abrogator and abrogated by Abe-Gaefar Al-Nahas , page 124
(5) Sahih Muslim, converse number 167
(6) "the quran 's Abrogation " by Ibn Al-jozy, page 37
(7) Sahih Al-Bokhary, converse number 5188
(8) " women of the prophet "by Bent Al-Shate', page 88, 89
(9) Sahih Al-Bokhary, converse number 3821
(10) Sahih Al-Bokhary, converse number 6744
(11) Sonan Abe-Dawûd, converse number 270
(12) Sonan Abe-Dawûd, converse number 2388
13) Father zakria botros  Episode 73)

2 comments:

  1. sam shamoun runs away in the middle of a debate:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cju--hoe1Qo

    ReplyDelete
  2. is this Ur answer about this article i don't care about what you are saying here what is Ur opinion about adult suckling

    ReplyDelete