The number of times of breastfeeding

Q 2: There is a girl whose mother died when she was forty days old. Her paternal grandmother raised her and fed her (Part No. 21; Page No. 24) camel and sheep milk. It was also said that she used to breastfeed her before sleeping so that she would not miss her mother. Some women claim that they had seen milk coming from the woman's breast, although she was more than eighty years old, and her husband had died twenty years ago. Is it lawful for that girl to marry her paternal cousin, given that she was breastfed by the same woman who breastfed her father-in-law? The disagreement was about whether what came out of the woman's breast was milk or water. Please advise, may Allah inform you.

A: If it is proven that what came out of the woman's breast was milk, and she breastfed her five times or more in her toddler years, it is prohibited for them to marry, as she is thus considered his foster aunt. Allah (Exalted be He) says, The mothers shall give suck to their children for two whole years, (that is) for those (parents) who desire to complete the term of suckling He also says, Forbidden to you (for marriage) are: your mothers until He says, ...your father’s sisters It was authentically reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, Foster relationships are equal to blood relationships in rendering marriage unlawful. It was authentically reported from `Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said, "It had been revealed in the Qur'an that ten clear times of breastfeeding make marriage unlawful, then it was abrogated (and substituted) by five clear times of breastfeeding. When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) died, it was what is now recited in the Qur'an." If the breastfeeding was less than (Part No. 21; Page No. 25) five times or after the toddler years, or it was proven that it was not milk, it is lawful for them to marry, bearing in mind that if a baby sucks even little milk from the breast and then leaves it, this is considered one time of breastfeeding. If it does it again, this is considered another time, and so on.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.