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My question involves child upbringing. i just had my second son about a week ago and my dad and husband have been preasuring me to breastfeed my son but i breastfed my 2..

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My question involves child upbringing. i just had my second son about a week ago and my dad and husband have been preasuring me to breastfeed my son but i breastfed my 2 year old and i had a very difficult time and i do not want to do it again . the main reason is because i want to loose weight as soon as possible and if i breastfeed i will not be able to diet like i want to but everyone is trying to make me feel guilty saying its the babies right and im depriving him of it .i want to have a healthy child but my main focuss is on loosing weight will i fall into sin i choose not to breastfeed      

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful


Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

Allah’s Messengers too were breast-fed. Allah inspired Musa’s mother to put her baby Musa in a basket in the river to save him from Pharaoh’s killing decree, Pharaoh’s family found him and wanted to keep him and looked everywhere for a wet-nurse to breastfeed him and Allah caused Musa to refuse to be breast-fed by any woman except his own mother.

The Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wassallam) in his childhood, suckled from his mother Aminah, Thuwaybah – a slave girl of his uncle Abu Lahab, Umm Ayman and Halimah as-Sa’diyyah.[

The Prophet’s (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wassallam) children too were breastfed. His son Ibrahim had a wet-nurse as occurs in a hadeeth and when his son passed away he was only 1 year and 10 months old so there were two months of suckling left for him so the Prophet (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wassallam) said as narrated by Al-Bara (bin Azib):

 The Prophet, after the death of his son Ibrahim, said, “There is a wet-nurse for him (i.e. Ibrahim) in Paradise.”[Recorded by Ibn Hibban, Abu Dawud and others from ‘Abdullah bin Ja’far (Radhiyallaahu ‘anhu)]

 It is only in modern times that the wide use of artificial forms of baby-feeding, cow’s and goat’s milk formulas, have been used and that women have left their homes in pursuit of careers which make them leave the superior role that Allah Ta’ala has given them and pulled them away from the home to serve others and leave their own families.

 Allah Ta’ala tells us the recommended time of suckling a child in the Qur’an:

 “And the mothers are to suckle their infants for two years, for those who wish to complete the suckling” (Surah Baqarah 2:233)

 “We have enjoined upon the human being to treat his parents kindly. His mother bore him with weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years.” (Surah Luqman 31:14)

 Look at the importance of breastfeeding! Allah Ta’ala even mentions it in the Qur’an a number of times! Breastfeeding is widely acknowledged now as being the best food for babies. It provides everything your baby needs.

Fourteen hundred years after this verse was revealed, international organizations such as the World Health Organization have issued statement after statement calling on mothers to breastfeed their children, whereas Islam enjoined that fourteen centuries ago. 

The benefits of breastfeeding for the child include the following: 

1 – The mother’s milk is sterile, containing no germs. 

2 – The mother’s milk cannot be imitated by any milk prepared from the milk of cows, goats or camels. It is composed in such a way as to meet the child’s needs day after day, from birth until weaning. 

3 – The mother’s milk contains sufficient amounts of protein and sugar that suit the infant completely, whereas the proteins in cow’s, goat’s and buffalo’s milk are difficult for the child’s stomach to digest, because they are suited to the offspring of those animals. 

4 – The development of children who are breastfed is faster and more complete than that of children who are bottle-fed. 

5 – The psychological and emotional bond between the mother and her child. 

6 – The mother’s milk contains various elements that are essential to the child’s nourishment, in the right amounts and formats needed by his body, and in a form that is suited to his ability to digest and absorb.  The nourishing content of the milk is not fixed; it changes day by day according to the child’s needs. 

7 – The mother’s milk is kept at a suitable temperature that meets the child’s needs, and can be given to him at any time. 

8 – Breastfeeding is a natural means of contraception for the mother, and is free of the complications that may accompany use of birth control pills, the coil (IUD) or injections. 

The child feels ultimate comfort and security through being so close to his mother and their special bond is strengthened, so much so that in Islam if a non-related woman breastfeeds a child she becomes a foster mother to him and her children are foster sisters and brothers to him who he cannot marry! As the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wassallam) said as is related in a number of Ahadeeth:

 ”Indeed, Allah has prohibited (marriage) among suckling relatives, as He has prohibited it among birth (or blood) relatives”[Recorded by Sahih Al-Bukhari, Muslim]

What more proof do we need of the bond that is created through breast-feeding?
It is permissible with the parent’s joint agreement to have a child breastfed by another woman and that wet-nurse is entitled to a wage.

However, it is better if no one breastfeeds the child but his mother; because that is more beneficial, and that may be obligatory for her if the child will not accept the breast of anyone else or any other milk. 

In Islam, unless there is a legitimate excuse, the mother is required to breastfeed her baby. It is an obligation upon both parents – the mother provides the milk and the father provides the material support for the mother even if they are divorced. If a parent thinks there is a need to wean the baby before the end of two years it is permissible after consultation and joint agreement.

In your situation the main reason given for not breastfeeding your child is to keep up with your fitness and to follow up a diet. That is not good enough to forego the right of the baby in breastfeeding him.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

Wassalamu Alaykum

Ml. Mohammad Ashhad bin Said

Correspondence Iftaa Student, Mauritius

Checked and Approved by:

Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In’aamiyyah

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This answer was collected from Askimam.org, which is operated under the supervision of Mufti Ebrahim Desai from South Africa.

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