67/24. Chapter:
Sahih Bukhari 5104 — Suckling Claim and Marriage Separation
The witness of a wet nurse
Hadith About Suckling Claim: Why Caution Matters in Marriage
Sahih Bukhari : 5104
Sahih BukhariHadith Number 5104
حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، أَخْبَرَنَا أَيُّوبُ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِي مُلَيْكَةَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي عُبَيْدُ بْنُ أَبِي مَرْيَمَ، عَنْ عُقْبَةَ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ، قَالَ وَقَدْ سَمِعْتُهُ مِنْ، عُقْبَةَ لَكِنِّي لِحَدِيثِ عُبَيْدٍ أَحْفَظُ قَالَ تَزَوَّجْتُ امْرَأَةً، فَجَاءَتْنَا امْرَأَةٌ سَوْدَاءُ فَقَالَتْ أَرْضَعْتُكُمَا. فَأَتَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقُلْتُ تَزَوَّجْتُ فُلاَنَةَ بِنْتَ فُلاَنٍ فَجَاءَتْنَا امْرَأَةٌ سَوْدَاءُ فَقَالَتْ لِي إِنِّي قَدْ أَرْضَعْتُكُمَا. وَهْىَ كَاذِبَةٌ فَأَعْرَضَ، فَأَتَيْتُهُ مِنْ قِبَلِ وَجْهِهِ، قُلْتُ إِنَّهَا كَاذِبَةٌ. قَالَ " كَيْفَ بِهَا وَقَدْ زَعَمَتْ أَنَّهَا قَدْ أَرْضَعَتْكُمَا، دَعْهَا عَنْكَ " وَأَشَارَ إِسْمَاعِيلُ بِإِصْبَعَيْهِ السَّبَّابَةِ وَالْوُسْطَى يَحْكِي أَيُّوبَ.
`Uqba bin Al-Harith Narrated from:
I married a woman and then a black lady came to us and said, "I have suckled you both (you and your wife)." So I came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "I married so-and-so and then a black lady came to us and said to me, 'I have suckled both of you.' But I think she is a liar." The Prophet (ﷺ) turned his face away from me and I moved to face his face, and said, "She is a liar." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "How (can you keep her as your wife) when that lady has said that she has suckled both of you? So abandon (i.e., divorce) her (your wife).
Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 5104In-book reference : Book 67, Hadith 42USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 7, Book 62, Hadith 41
Summary of Sahih Bukhari Hadith 5104
This hadith about a suckling claim in marriage shows how serious such a claim can be. Uqba bin Al-Harith had married a woman. Then another woman came and said that she had suckled both of them. Uqba told the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and said he thought she was lying. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم turned away, and when Uqba repeated the claim of lying, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم asked how he could remain with her when the woman had said she suckled them both. He then told him to leave her. The narration does not give every rule of evidence. It shows that when a direct suckling claim touched the marriage itself, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم treated it with strong caution.
What we learn from this hadith
- A claim about suckling can directly affect a marriage.
- Personal suspicion alone did not settle the matter for Uqba.
- The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم directed separation when the suckling claim was raised in this case.
- Marriage matters should not ignore serious kinship claims.
