This was brought up in discussion this morning at a roundtable discussion after church. I’d never heard of it, but I’ve two questions regarding this. First some background (more details and references to this can be found here). I’m going to summarize what I heard this morning however.
Islam has two books, the Q’oran and the Hadith. The second I hadn’t heard of, but that just is a statement about my ignorance not anything more significant. The Hadith consist of a transcriptions of some mundane and otherwise ordinary conversations and actions by the prophet during his life and tenure. They however, have the same rigor as scripture, so a fundamentalist Islamic believer cannot easily dismiss clear statements. A recent scholar of one of the most respected Islamic seminaries (theological colleges) recently made a statement about the so-called “suckling fatwa”. Apparently, one of the prophet’s favorite wives had been spending time alone in the company of a man (and not always covered?) … not of his family. This was against law. The prophet came up with a solution. This man would nurse (suckle) at her breast five times so his feelings for her would subside (she would now be as a step-son and unlawful for her to wed or have relations …. he’s now “family”).
‘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 (purbety) [sic] 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. (Sahih Muslim 3425)
The problem of course is obvious. For Moslem women who in the workplace need to have close working relationships with men not of their family which would be disallowed. Well, the solution is simple. Nurse the co-worker and the that would solve things. This would be a scandal of sorts in the sex crazed west … it is truly far more outrageous in the more repressed Middle-East.
Question one: How should the West treat this scandal?
Question two: Will this impact relations between the West and Islam?
I would request you to also read this hadith which is #3429 on the same page which states:
So it seems that this was a special concession given to Salim by Allah’s Messenger, but then again Allah knows best.
Mark, there are really far more shocking things in the early Muslim sources than that. How about the one where Mohammed’s men were having trouble carrying out an assassination he had ordered, so they got permission to lie in order to successfully complete their assassination? How about the one where Mohammed’s men were debating whether it was ok to rape the female prisoners they were holding hostage for ransom as a fund-raiser, decided to ask Mohammed about coitus interruptus, and his comments were limited to its relative inefficacy as birth control in light of divine sovereignty over conception? Or in current events, how about the guy who some were regarding as a “Muslim Luther” (reformer) who is now being disowned by Sunni Islam for his heretical stand that God did *not* create evil?
I’m just guessing that the “suckling” thing isn’t going to raise many eyebrows except among those who are already other-than-Muslim.
Take care & God bless
Sameer and Anne
It should be clear from the above, that I’m pretty ignorant of Islam, Q’oran and ahadith (sp?) and Sharia law in general. However the impression I got from the conversation (between people not so ignorant) was that this was a recent scandal intra-Islam to be contrasted with those between Western ideals and Islamic ones.