What is the required number of sucklings when milk is administered via 'Sa'ut' or 'Wajur'?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Fosterage (Breastfeeding)
Primary text
Only the amount that establishes prohibition via regular suckling, which is five in the renowned narration, is required. Since this is a branch of suckling, it takes its ruling. If suckling is performed and the five are completed via 'Sa'ut' or 'Wajur', or by drinking administered milk (Isti'at or Iwjar), or by suckling completing the remaining number, the prohibition is established, as it is considered equivalent to suckling for the core ruling, and thus for completing the number. If milk is drawn into a container at one time and then given to a boy over five separate occasions, it counts as five sucklings, analogous to eating food in five separate mouthfuls being five bites.
Supporting text
If milk drawn over five separate times is given at once, it counts as one suckling, analogous to food prepared over five occasions being eaten at once. Ash-Shafi'i has a reported opinion reversing this in both cases, considering the exit point. The correct view emphasizes the drinking by the child, as that is what establishes the prohibition, evidenced by prohibition being established without actual suckling. If the milk reaches the mouth and is immediately spat out, prohibition is not established, meaning the ingestion is what counts. If given over time, it is five instances; if given in one gulp, it is one suckling, similar to continuously taking small bites of food not counting as multiple meals. An alternative view is to revert to the ruling concerning the wet nurse cutting off the suckling, as previously discussed.