Is It Permissible for a Husband to Drink His Wife’s Milk in the Shafi‘i School?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

Is it permissible for a husband to suck his wife’s breast and drink her milk?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

Yes, this is permissible in the Shafi‘i school. A husband may enjoy his wife’s entire body, and her milk is pure, so drinking it is lawful. It does not establish any of the rulings of a foster relationship (rida‘), and it does not harm the marriage in any way.

The Default Permission in the Shafi‘i School

The default in the Shafi‘i school is that a husband may enjoy the whole of his wife’s body. The only exceptions are anal intercourse, which is unlawful, and anything that would cause her physical harm. Drinking his wife’s milk falls under this general permission.

Two further points confirm the ruling. First, human milk is classified as a pure substance, so there is no question of impurity (najasa).

Second, the rulings of foster relationship (rida‘) do not apply here, because those rulings are established only through the suckling of a child under two lunar years of age. An adult husband drinking his wife’s milk does not become unmarriageable to her, and the marriage is in no way affected.

So the act is lawful, it carries no impurity, and it does not affect the marriage contract.

Allah (Most High) says, describing the lawful intimacy between spouses, “Your wives are a tilth for you, so come to your tilth as you wish” [Quran, 2:223]. The scholars take this verse as a foundation for the breadth of permitted enjoyment between a husband and wife.

Scope of Marital Relations

Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri (Allah have mercy on him) said, “A husband possesses full right to enjoy his wife’s person from the top of her head to the soles of her feet, except anal intercourse, which is absolutely unlawful, and anything that would cause her physical harm.” [Misri, ‘Umdat al-Salik]

Purity of the Milk

On the purity of the milk itself, it is among the pure substances “human milk” [Misri, ‘Umdat al-Salik], so it carries no impurity when consumed.

The contemporary Shafi’i scholar Shaykh Amjad Rashid (Allah preserve him) was asked directly whether it is permissible for a man to suck his wife’s breast and drink her milk. He answered that it is permissible for a husband to enjoy the whole of his wife’s body, including what was mentioned in the question, and that it is permissible for him to drink her milk. He added that, contrary to what some wrongly assume, none of the rulings of foster relationships are established by this, because those rulings apply only to a child who has not yet reached two lunar years of age. [Amjad Rashid, Fatwa]

No Expiation Required and No Effect on the Marriage

The governing principle here is that the default in all things is permissibility (al-asl fi al-ashya’ al-ibaha), and that intimacy between spouses is broad and lawful except for what Sacred Law has specifically excluded.

A husband who drinks his wife’s milk has done nothing unlawful, has contracted no impurity, and has not affected his marriage.

There is no need for worry, and no expiation or corrective action of any kind is required. Spouses should simply enjoy one another within the lawful bounds and set aside the misconception about foster relations, which has no basis in this situation.

And Allah knows best.

[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Related Answers

• Is Drinking the Breast Milk of My Wife Problematic? — A ruling clarifying that a husband drinking his wife‘s milk does not establish kinship or affect the marriage, with a note on the scholarly discussion of intentional drinking in the Hanafi school.
• What Are Some of the Etiquette of Intimacy in the Shafi‘i School? — An overview of the recommended conduct and limits of marital intimacy as understood in the Shafi‘i school, offering practical guidance for spouses.
• Does Feeding a Child Expressed Breast Milk Before 2.5 Years Create Mahram Relationships, and With Whom? — A clear explanation of how the mahram relationship arising from breastfeeding applies only when a baby under two lunar years of age ingests the milk, and which relatives are affected.

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Center and, for six years, the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town. He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.