What is the ruling regarding the marriage contracts when a man marries an older woman (Kabira) and a younger girl (Saghira) simultaneously, and the older woman breastfeeds the younger girl before consummation?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Fosterage (Breastfeeding)
Primary text
If the older woman breastfeeds the younger girl before consummation, the older woman's marriage contract is immediately voided, and she becomes permanently forbidden to him. This is the view held by Al-Thawri, Al-Shafi'i, Abu Thawr, and the People of Opinion (Ahl al-Ra'y). Since the older woman becomes a mother-in-law ('Umm min Ummahat al-Nisa'), she is permanently forbidden based on Quran 4:23, and no consummation is required for this prohibition. The ruling on the younger girl depends on two narrations: one states her marriage is valid because she is a stepdaughter (Rabiba) and the marriage to her mother was not consummated, citing Quran 4:23. The second narration states her marriage is annulled, aligning with Al-Shafi'i and Abu Hanifa, because they became mother and daughter simultaneously united in his marriage, which is prohibited, leading to annulment, analogous to becoming sisters or simultaneous contracting after nursing.
Supporting text
Al-Awza'i holds the older woman's marriage remains valid, and the younger girl is taken from him. This view is rejected because the older woman becomes permanently forbidden, and the nullification of her marriage should not necessarily nullify the other, similar to marrying a sister and a non-relative simultaneously. The view preferring annulment of the older woman's marriage argues that the permanent prohibition is the primary cause for dissolution, and the merging into mother/daughter status should invalidate the marriage that caused the permanent bar, unlike the case where one converts to Islam while married to his mother and daughter, where the mother's marriage is preferentially dissolved because the permanent prohibition applies only to her first.