LAHORE: A fatwa by an Islamic scholar permitting women to breastfeed adults with whom they work has led to his suspension this month from al-Azhar University in Cairo, the world’s leading Sunni university, reports The Australian.
Izzat Atiyaa had issued the fatwa as a way around the prohibition in Islamic religious law against a woman working in private premises with a man who was not her close relative, says the report in The Australian. Breastfeeding, he argued, would create a familial relationship under Islamic law.
Dr Atiyaa explained to the Egyptian newspaper al-Watani al-Yawm that: “A man and a woman who are alone together are not (necessarily) having sex but this possibility exists and breastfeeding provides a solution to this problem (by) transforming the bestial relationship between two people into a religious relationship based on (religious) duties.”
In Islamic tradition, breastfeeding at infancy establishes a degree of familial relationship between nurse and child even if there is no biological relationship. Dr Atiyaa argued in his fatwa that if an adult male was nursed by a female co-worker it would likewise establish a familial bond that would permit them to work side by side without raising suspicion of illicit sex.
Dr Atiyaa headed al-Azhar University’s department dealing with hadith. He said he had based his ruling on one such tradition according to which, at the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) order, a man named Salem was breastfed by the wife of another disciple.
“The fact that the hadith regarding the breastfeeding of an adult is inconceivable to the mind does not make it invalid,” Dr Atiyaa said, in defending his ruling. “Rejecting it is tantamount to questioning the Prophet’s (pbuh) tradition.”
Nevertheless, his ruling evoked almost universal rejection among Muslim scholars and in the popular Egyptian press. Al-Azhar University formed a committee of hadith experts, who dismissed his ruling, and the university administration ordered him to publish a retraction. He complied.
However, his apology was deemed insufficient by the head of the al-Azhar Supreme Council, Sheik Muhammed Sayyid Tantawi, a widely respected figure who is the highest spiritual authority in Sunni Islam.
“There is enough chaos with all the unsupervised fatwas (published) on satellite channels,” he said. “We will never permit this chaos to spread to the religious establishment and to al-Azhar.” Following his remarks, the university decided to suspend Dr Atiyaa, pending further investigation.
Re: Al Azhar scholar favours adult breastfeeding (and gets fired)
Al-Azhar doesnt hold the same authority anymore. In the past they produced many great scholars, not the case anymore. It is famous for giving notorious fatwas. :D
Re: Al Azhar scholar favours adult breastfeeding (and gets fired)
I havne not heard this hadith before but even if it did exist ..it was maybe only for that SPECIFIC companion and non other ... in the prophets time there have been evens where only a specific companion is involved but yet the ruling isnt same for the rest ..an example would be where a man wanted to accept Islam but he made a condition that . he will only pray 1 prayer and leave the other 4 .. the companions like the likes of Hazrtat Umar were furious over this that how can he be accepting islam then making conditions The propher SAW said ok .. so a few days went by the man came again and he said i will pray 2 salaahs only and like wise till one day he came he said Oh Messenger of Allah i will pray all five ........ at this moment all the companions were joyous and happy ........ what this is to show that evens similar to this have occured which were only for specific ONLY under the supervision of the Prophet SAW ... and this even regarding could have been one of those where it was only permissable for HIM alone ..
Well i have to check this Hadith myself ..whether it exists or Not ..but i doubt it cos Sheikh Tantawi Rejected this Ruling on the basis that this fatwa isnt right .. So Sheikh Tantawi has Done good by Removing Dr Izzat.
Re: Al Azhar scholar favours adult breastfeeding (and gets fired)
Al-Azhar Examines the Fatwa, Suspends Dr. Atiyya
In response to the uproar caused by the fatwa, Al-Azhar university formed a committee of several experts on hadiths to investigate the matter. According to a senior Al-Azhar source, the university president also ordered Dr. Atiyya to publish an apology, and the latter complied and retracted his fatwa, [2] explaining: "My statements on the issue of breastfeeding an adult were based on the imams Ibn Hazm, Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn Al-Qayyim, Al-Shawkani and Amin Khattab [Al-Subki], and on conclusions I drew from the statements of Ibn Hajar [Al-Askalani]. However, I hold that only the breastfeeding of an infant creates a family relationship [that prohibits marriage between the parties and allows them to be together], as the Four Imams * said, while the [act of] breastfeeding a grown man [mentioned in the hadith] was a [specific] incident that came to serve a [specific] purpose, and the fatwa I issued was based solely on my personal interpretation. Based on what I have learned with my brothers the religious scholars, I apologize for my earlier [statements] and retract my opinion, which contradicts [the norms accepted] by the public." [3]
Note: Hadith is about expressing milk and not directly from the breasts.*
Re: Al Azhar scholar favours adult breastfeeding (and gets fired)
New Info i have is that ..this wasnt a fatwa which was publically announced or anything ... and this NEWS is 2 weeks old ...
but what happened that Dr Izzat was talking to a few old scholars and expressing his opinion (keeping in mind - this was a weak opinion) ... to them and the papers had Quoted him .. and when the Sheikh Tantawi found this out he Rejected this opinion cos it was weak ... and The Professor - Dr izzat has done Rujoo (taken his words back) of this and believes this opinion to be weak.
Re: Al Azhar scholar favours adult breastfeeding (and gets fired)
New Info i have is that ..this wasnt a fatwa which was publically announced or anything ... and this NEWS is 2 weeks old ...
but what happened that Dr Izzat was talking to a few old scholars and expressing his opinion (keeping in mind - this was a weak opinion) ... to them and the papers had Quoted him .. and when the Sheikh Tantawi found this out he Rejected this opinion cos it was weak ... and The Professor - Dr izzat has done Rujoo (taken his words back) of this and believes this opinion to be weak.
Re: Al Azhar scholar favours adult breastfeeding (and gets fired)
I'd like for the hadith to be posted and discussed, before anyone walks away mistakenly thinking some guy in old Arabia sucked on a na-mehram woman's breast, and that Islam was ok with this.
Re: Al Azhar scholar favours adult breastfeeding (and gets fired)
errr milk does not go directly from source to mouth, but is put in a vessel, and then given. many working women in US express milk and save it for their kids.
But aisay hi fatway ki kammee thi.
*