Lady Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed the wife of Abu Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him), Lady Sahla (may Allah be pleased with her), to breastfeed Abu Hudhaifah’s slave, Salim, so that Abu Hudhaifah’s temperament (i.e., anger) would subside. So that woman breastfed that young man who was a grown man. The narrator named Rabee’ah says: This was a concession specifically for Salim.

Sayyidah Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: Sahla bint Suhail came to the service of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). She said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Salim is called the adopted son of Abu Hudhaifah, he stays with them, he also comes to me, he sees me (without a head covering, etc.), our house is also small, and Allah Almighty has said: "Call them by (the names of) their (real) fathers; that is more just in the sight of Allah." So the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Give him your milk to drink, you will become unlawful (for marriage) to him.

Imam Malik narrates regarding Ibn Shihab Zuhri: He was asked about the issue of the suckling of an adult, so he replied: 'Urwah bin Zubair informed me of this matter. Sayyiduna Abu Hudhaifah bin 'Utbah bin Rabi'ah was among the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and he had the honor of participating in the Battle of Badr. He had adopted Salim as his son; this is the same Salim who is called Salim Mawla Abu Hudhaifah. This was exactly like how the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had adopted Sayyiduna Zaid bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) as his son. Sayyiduna Abu Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) married Salim to his niece Fatimah bint Walid bin 'Utbah bin Rabi'ah, and the reason for this was that he considered him his son. That woman was among the first women to migrate and was the most virtuous among the widows of Quraysh. When Allah Almighty revealed the command regarding Sayyiduna Zaid bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "Call them by (the names of) their (real) fathers; that is more just in the sight of Allah. But if you do not know their fathers, then they are your brothers in religion and your freed slaves." So, everyone who had adopted a son attributed that child to his (real) father, and if the father was unknown, he was attributed to his master who had freed him. Sahla bint Suhail, who was the wife of Abu Hudhaifah and belonged to Banu 'Amir bin Lu'ayy, came to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)! We used to consider Salim as our son, and he used to come to me. We have only one house, so what is your opinion regarding his matter?" The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Give him your milk five times, and because of your milk, he will become unlawful (for marriage) to you." The woman did so, and she considered that boy her foster son. Sayyidah 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) adopted this ruling: for any man whom she liked to come to her, she would instruct her sister, Sayyidah Umm Kulthum bint Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with her), or one of her nieces to give milk to that boy whom Sayyidah 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) liked to come to her. All the other wives of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did not accept that, due to such suckling, anyone could enter upon them. The wives used to say: "We think that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) gave this ruling to Sahla bint Suhail only as a concession for Salim, and it was specific from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Because of such suckling, no one can enter upon us." So, regarding the suckling of an adult, this was the opinion of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as mentioned in this narration.

Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I married Umm Yahya bint Abu Wahab. A black woman came to us and mentioned that she had breastfed both of us (husband and wife). I went to the service of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and mentioned this matter. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: What can be done now when this woman has stated this? So you should leave this woman (i.e., your wife).

Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Harith reports: He married the daughter of Abu Wahab, then a black woman stated that she had breastfed both of them (the husband and wife). I went to the service of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and mentioned this matter before him. The Prophet (peace be upon him) turned away from me. I approached him from the other side and said: O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)! That woman is lying. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: What can be done now when she has stated this? She has breastfed both of you. So the Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade him from that woman (i.e., ordered him to separate from her). (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) This shaykh (i.e., my teacher Muhammad bin Umar) informed us about this narration among the narrations transmitted from his teachers from Yazid bin Zurai’ from Nasr bin Ali.

Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: He married the daughter of Abu Wahab bin Aziz. A woman came to him and said: I have suckled Uqbah and also the woman whom he has married. So Uqbah said to this woman: I have no knowledge that you have suckled me, nor did you ever tell me about this before. Then Uqbah sent a message to the family of Abu Wahab and inquired about this matter from them. They also replied that they had no knowledge that this woman had suckled the girl. Then Sayyiduna Uqbah rode and went to the service of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in Madinah and asked about this matter. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: What can be done now when this has already been stated? So Sayyiduna Uqbah (may Allah be pleased with him) separated from that woman, and the woman married someone else.

Sayyida Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The brother of Abu Qais (may Allah be pleased with him) sought permission to enter my house. This was after the command of hijab had been revealed. So I said: I will not give you permission until the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) comes. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) arrived, I asked him for permission regarding this matter. I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)! The brother of Abu Qais sought permission to enter my house, so I refused to give him permission before asking you, because the wife of Abu Qais had nursed me, but Abu Qais himself had not nursed me. So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: You should have given him permission; he is your uncle.

Sayyidah Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The brother of Abu Qais sought permission to enter my house after the command of veiling had been revealed, so I said: I will not give you permission until the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) comes. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) arrived, I sought permission from him. I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)! The brother of Abu Qais sought permission to enter my house, so I refused to give him permission until I had asked you, because the wife of Abu Qais nursed me, but Abu Qais himself did not nurse me. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: You should have given him permission; he is your uncle.

Sayyida Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The command was revealed in the Qur'an that prohibition is established by ten specified times of suckling, then this command was abrogated and changed to five specified times. When the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, this command was included among the verses of the Qur'an which we used to recite.

Mother of the Believers, Lady Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The command was revealed in the Qur'an that prohibition is established by ten specified instances of breastfeeding, then this command was abrogated and changed to five specified instances. When the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, these verses were among those things which we used to recite in the Qur'an.