Adult Breastfeeding?
Investigateislam made a video claiming the prophet Muhammad allowed women to breastfeed adults after a man became jealous that his adopted son lived in the same house where his wife was unveiled. Here is the link to his video www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIEkLOXSy6I The Hadith he is referring to is from is Sahih Muslim Book 008, Number 3425 which says in english
Sahih Muslim Book 008, Number 3425
'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported that:
Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hadhaifa, lived with him and his family in their house. She (i. e. the daughter of Suhail came to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and said: Salim has attained (puberty) as men attain, and he understands what they understand, and he enters our house freely, I, however, perceive that something (rankles) in the heart of Abu Hudhaifa, whereupon Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said to her: Suckle him and you would become unlawful for him, and (the rankling) which Abu Hudhaifa feels in his heart will disappear. She returned and said: So I suckled him, and what (was there) in the heart of Abu Hudhaifa disappeared Response 1
Science has proved Breastfeeding is linked to Higher IQ's, Acids present in breast milk were thought to be the reason why children who are breastfed as infants attain higher IQ scores than children not fed breast milk, an advantage that persists into adulthood, though evidence of this from studies has been mixed
www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2007/11/05/scibreast105.xml
Response 2
This incident occured before Islam forbade adoptions. Islam then forbade adoption, for some reasons. But the prophet gave an allowance to the foster mother (Sahla bint Suhail) to make Salem her foster son so that he could live with her like son does with his blood mother. This is because she saw Salem as a son, & Salem was a child who was an ex slave so he had nowhere else to go and he had no money. So this was actually a sign of the prophets kindness. So he made an exception because this took place during the transitional period when islam forbade adoptions
Physical Breastfeeding did not actually take place, because no contact was made between the mother and Salem, because the milk was collected in a container and that’s how Salem drank it.
The word used in Arabic is Reda means nursing only & does not necessarily suggest breast-feeding physically. Aalso no sexual contact was made because this is what was reported by Muhammad Ibn Sa’d and Ibn Hajar Al-‘Asqalani in their biographies of Sahla bint Suhail (the foster mother)
Muhammad Ibn ‘Umar told us: Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdullah, Az-Zuhri’s nephew, told us on authority of his father that he said: an amount of one milk drink was collected in a pot or glass, so Salem used to drink it every day, for five days. After this, he used to enter at her while her head is uncovered. This was permission from Messenger of Allah to Sahla bint Suhail
(Ibn Sa’d, Kitab At-Tabaqat Al-Kabir, Vol 10, page 257 & Ibn Hajar, Al-Isabah, Vol 7, pg 717)
The husband of the foster mother was jealous that Salem approached his wife like a son approaches his mother. So the prophet Muhammed wanted to make him accept Salem as a son, so obviously the prophet would not suggest that she literally breastfeed him, & obviously the jealous husband would not allow this to happen either
Salem was like a real son to his mother and it was difficult for her to leave him, he was also a young child and a former slave, so he had no money, no shelter. This is the reason for the Prophet (pbuh) made an exception, it was a sign of his kindness. He did not want Salem to lose his only family, and he wanted the family to now fully treat Sallem like a normal blood relative
Conclusion
This incident is only an exception because the general Muslim view is that there is no breastfeeding after the first two years of age, This is supported from the Quran & Sunnah, and also Commentaries
Quran 2:233
''And the mothers should suckle their children for two whole years for him who desires to make complete the time of suckling; and their maintenance and their clothing must''
Qurtubi's commentary of Quran 2:233 says
It is reported on authority of (Abu Hanifah) An-Nu’man that he said, “What is after the two years up to six months is (considered) nursing”. But the authentic (opinion) is the first one due to His saying “The mothers shall give suck to their offspring for two whole years”. This indicates that there is no significance of whatever the newborn suckles after the age of two years
FOUNDER OF CHRISTIANITY PAUL WAS A CHILD MOLESTEROR
The apostle paul circumsised timothy in the book of Acts 16:1-3 and he sucked on the wound with his mouth according to ancient witnesses, records and Jewish accounts.
source: A. N. Wilson, Paul The Mind Of The Apostle, (Pimlico, 1998), p. 128