Is the sale of human milk permissible?
Chapter on Selling the Musarrah (Animal with milk retained in udder)
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
The ruling regarding the sale of human milk is subject to scholarly disagreement. The apparent view in the school permits its sale based on the principle that everything possessing usufruct (manfa'ah) is permissible to sell. This position is held by Ibn Hamid and the Shafi'i madhhab. The justification for permissibility is that human milk is pure and beneficial, similar to the milk of a sheep, which is sold. Furthermore, compensation is permitted for wet-nursing services (ijarat al-dhair), suggesting the permissibility of compensation for this fluid. Additionally, the sale of other parts of a human being, such as a slave, is permissible, provided the person is owned, differentiating it from the prohibition on selling a free person or a severed limb, the latter being due to lack of benefit.
Supporting text
A group of scholars holds that the sale of human milk is prohibited. This is the position of Abu Hanifa and Malik. The reasoning is that it is a fluid issuing from a human being, thus it is not permissible to sell, analogous to sweat. They also argue that since it originates from a human, it resembles all other parts of a human body in being prohibited from sale.