Breastfeeding

Q: We would like your advice on the following: My wife had a very difficult birth and after that she had to have a ceaser and a hysterectomy, so we wont be able to have any more kids. This was our first child and she is a girl. A family member suggested that if she breastfeeds her nephew who is a year old (Her brothers first child) then at least our daughter will have company when she is older and she will have an older brother to look up to and she can still keep that relationship after she reaches puberty since he will be her step brother. I have a few concerns regarding that like, what if they want to get married, and we also stay very far away from each other (720km) so it seems a bit senseless doing that. Also our upbringing styles will be different, we will probably have a more Islamic outlook and they will have a more modern outlook.

Q: I have a one year five month old son who eats solids and drinks breast milk at times. I want to wean him off from breast feeding as I am three months pregnant but my husband insists that I feed him until he is two years. I know the weaning period is two years but in this case I would just like to know the masala. Do I need to breast feed for full two years or will I be sinful if I wean him off now?

Q: My wife is pregnant since one months and she also has an 8th month old baby. Is it permissible for her to continue breast feeding? If permissible, then for how long?

Q: Please advise regarding breastfeeding. My son will islamically turn two soon but I am still nursing him.

Q: I have recently found out I'm pregnant Alhamdullilah and I have also applied for hajj for the next year. I realise it's not guaranteed that I'll be accepted with the long lists. My in-law's have told me to stop breastfeeding my child at an early age (8 months) and put him on a bottle so they can look after him if we are accepted for next year (2016). I am very unhappy about doing that, but I also know how difficult it is to get accepted for Hajj with the current system. What would be the best solution to this?

Q: I would like to know what is the maximum period for breast-feeding for all schools of thoughts with proof.

Q: I am currently breast feeding my son and I have a daughter as well. I have been blessed with a great milk supply alhamdullilah. I want to know what the ruling is on donating Breast milk and milk siblings, I will not know who my Breast milk will be going to. Keeping in mind my children will get married one day insha Allah?

Q: My wife and I cannot have children however we are considering "adoption" but in the sense of fostering, i.e. ensuring that the child would not take our name and would know of his or her lineage. How I would do that, Allah grant me hikmah and make it easy.

I understand the legal issues around breast-feeding and the mahram status it provides to adoptive muslim "parents". Would this status still apply if my wife were to induce (by means of taking medication) the production of breast milk in her body? That is to say, the breast milk would not be produced by means of a child being born to my wife, but rather due to taking a pill to cause it to breast feed another child. We are both Hanafi.

I understand that this too is a modern phenomena, ie, inducing by means of medication the production of breast milk. Being a modern phenomena, there could probably be ikhtilaaf on this matter. I would like to now what is your opinion on this matter and with great respect, ask you to please explain the proofs for arriving at that opinion. Also if there is another opinion held by other ulema, could you possibly inform me of that opinion and also the proofs they may have.  

Q: I have a question about whether it would be allowed for a Muslim to donate breast milk for use by babies. Secondly would it be allowed for a Muslim mom to allow her baby to use donated breast milk on a newborn infant.

Background information: bottle feeding is both expensive +\- minus R400 per month and needs to be sterilized. For the poor person who is unable to breast feed, mom who's dead or too ill this could lead to serious illness in the child. For instance over diluting to save money would lead to malnourishment. Or people without access to electricity may not heat the bottles leading to child getting severe infections.

Q: According to Quran majeed how long a mother can breastfeed to her son and daughter?