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Inquiry & Analysis-Egypt
May 25, 2007
No. 355
Al-Azhar Lecturer Suspended after Issuing Controversial Fatwa Recommending
Breastfeeding of Men by Women in the Workplace
To view this Inquiry and Analysis in HTML, visit:
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA35507 .
By L. Lavi*
The head of the Hadith Department in Al-Azhar University, Dr. Izzat Atiyya,
recently issued a controversial fatwa dealing with breastfeeding of adults.
The fatwa stated that a woman who is required to work in private with a man
not of her immediate family - a situation that is forbidden by Islamic law -
can resolve the problem by breastfeeding the man, which, according to
shari'a, turns him into a member of her immediate family.
The fatwa sparked a storm of protest in the Egyptian public arena,
especially within the religious establishment. It was harshly criticized by
Muslim Brotherhood MPs, who even brought it up for discussion in parliament,
as well as by Egyptian intellectuals and columnists.
In response, Al-Azhar University formed a special committee to debate the
fatwa, and on the recommendation of this committee, Dr. Atiyya was
suspended. The Egyptian information minister ordered the removal from
sellers' shelves of the issue of the government weekly Al-Watani Al-Yawm in
which the fatwa had been published.
Dr. Atiyya, on his part, published a retraction and apologized, saying that
the fatwa was no more than a personal interpretation of a certain hadith,
and furthermore, that the hadith in question relates a particular incident
that occurred under specific constraints, and has no general applicability.
However, Al-Azhar refused to accept his apology.
Head of the Al-Azhar Hadith Department: Breastfeeding Allows a Woman to Be
With a Man in Private
Dr. Izzat Atiyya explained his fatwa in an interview with Al-Watani Al-Yawm,
the weekly of Egypt's ruling National Democratic Front party. He said: "The
religious ruling that appears in the Prophet's conduct [Sunna] confirms that
breastfeeding allows a man and a woman to be together in private, even if
they are not family and if the woman did not nurse the man in his infancy,
before he was weaned - providing that their being together serves some
purpose, religious or secular...
"Being together in private means being in a room with the door closed, so
that nobody can see them... A man and a woman who are not family members are
not permitted [to do this], because it raises suspicions and doubts. A man
and a woman who are alone together are not [necessarily] having sex, but
this possibility exists, and breastfeeding provides a solution to this
problem... I also insist that the breastfeeding relationship be officially
documented in writing... The contract will state that this woman has suckled
this man... After this, the woman may remove her hijab and expose her hair
in the man's [presence]...
Dr. Atiyya further explained that the breastfeeding does not necessarily
have to be done by the woman herself. "The important point," he said, "is
that the man and the woman must be related through breastfeeding. [This can
also be achieved] by means of the man's mother or sister suckling the woman,
or by means of the woman's mother or sister suckling the man, since [all of
these solutions legally] turn them into brother and sister...
"The logic behind [the concept] of breastfeeding an adult is to transform
the bestial relationship between [two people] into a religious relationship
based on [religious] duties... Since [this] breastfeeding takes place
between [two] adults, the man is still permitted to marry the woman [who
breastfed him], whereas [a woman] who nursed [a man] in his infancy is not
permitted to marry him...
"The adult must suckle directly from the [woman's] breast... [This according
to a hadith attributed to Aisha, wife of the Prophet's Muhammad], which
tells of Salem [the adopted son of Abu Hudheifa] who was breastfed by
Abu-Hudheifa's wife when he was already a grown man with a beard, by the
Prophet's order... Other methods, such as [transferring] the milk to a
container, are [less desirable]...
"[As for the possibility of using a breast-pump, which] increases the
production of the milk glands... that is a matter for doctors and religious
scholars who must determine if the milk [thus produced] is real milk, i.e.,
if its composition is identical to that of the [woman's] original milk. If
it is, this method is permissible...
Dr. Atiyya also said: "The fact that the hadith regarding the breastfeeding
of an adult is inconceivable to the mind does not make it invalid. This is a
reliable hadith, and rejecting it is tantamount to rejecting Allah's
Messenger and questioning the Prophet's tradition."(1)
Al-Azhar Examines the Fatwa, Suspends Dr. Atiyya
In response to the uproar caused by the fatwa, Al-Azhar university formed a
committee of several experts on hadiths to investigate the matter. According
to a senior Al-Azhar source, the university president also ordered Dr.
Atiyya to publish an apology, and the latter complied and retracted his
fatwa,(2) explaining: "My statements on the issue of breastfeeding an adult
were based on the imams Ibn Hazm, Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn Al-Qayyim, Al-Shawkani
and Amin Khattab [Al-Subki], and on conclusions I drew from the statements
of Ibn Hajar [Al-Askalani]. However, I hold that only the breastfeeding of
an infant creates a family relationship [that prohibits marriage between the
parties and allows them to be together], as the Four Imams [i.e., the
founders of the four Sunni legal schools] said, while the [act of]
breastfeeding a grown man [mentioned in the hadith] was a [specific]
incident that came to serve a [specific] purpose, and the fatwa I issued was
based solely on my personal interpretation. Based on what I have learned
with my brothers the religious scholars, I apologize for my earlier
[statements] and retract my opinion, which contradicts [the norms accepted]
by the public."(3)
However, the Al-Azhar Supreme Council, headed by Al-Azhar Sheikh Dr.
Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, refused to accept Dr. Atiyya's apology, saying, "We
must not be too lax in matters of religion, especially when the matter at
hand is a fatwa that significantly affects people's actual lives,
inclinations, and views - because it speaks to their natural emotions which
[lead them to] embrace what is permitted and shun prohibitions." Tantawi
said, "Society cannot tolerate [a fatwa] that undermines its religious
stability. There is enough chaos with all the unsupervised fatwas
[published] on some satellite channels. We will never permit this chaos to
spread to the religious establishment and to Al-Azhar."
By the recommendation of the special committee formed to examine the fatwa,
Al-Azhar decided to suspend Dr. Atiyya pending further investigation of his
case.(4)
Egyptian Minister of Religious Endowments Dr. Muhammad Hamdi Zaqzouq
likewise criticized the fatwa, saying: "Fatwas like these harm Islam, serve
our enemies and push the public towards backwardness and ignorance."(5)
*PUBLIC UPROAR OVER DR. ATIYYA'S FATWA
Muslim Brotherhood MPs: This is an Erroneous Fatwa
The issue of breastfeeding adults was brought up for debate in the Egyptian
parliament. Sabri Khalaf Allah from Muslim Brotherhood bloc in the
parliament told the Al-Arabiyya TV website that some 50 MPs had discussed
the issue, had expressed concern over the fact that the fatwa had been
published in the media, but had refrained from submitting a parliamentary
question in order to avoid creating too big an uproar.
Dr. Sayyid Askar, a Muslim Brotherhood MP and former member of the Academy
of Islamic Studies, said that the hadith on which the fatwa is based is
indeed authentic and valid, but that the accepted view among Muslim scholars
is that it refers to a specific case and cannot be applied to other cases.
Therefore, he concluded, Dr. Attiya's fatwa is an erroneous fatwa that goes
against the consensus. "In our modern society," he added, "it makes no sense
to talk of breastfeeding adults."(6)
Intellectuals Object: The Koran Forbids the Breastfeeding of Adults
Dr. Abd Al-Fatah Asaker, who studies Muslim tradition, denied the validity
of the hadith on which the fatwa is based, claiming it is nonsense and
criticized the publication of Abd Al-Qadir's book which regarded it as
valid.(7) In an interview with Al-Watani Al-Yawm, he said: "Would Dr. Abd
Al-Mahdi [Abd Al-Qadr] agree [to let] his wife, daughter, sister or even his
mother breastfeed a grown man - whether a stranger or a family member? Would
the Muslim scholars [want people] to say that their wives breastfeed any man
who comes along?
Asaker argued that the hadiths of Muslim tradition, even those that appear
[in reliable compilations like those of] Al-Bukhari and Muslim, are invalid
if they contradict what is said in the Koran, which states: "Mothers shall
suckle their children for two whole years; [that is] for those who wish to
complete the [full period of] suckling [Koran 2:233]." Asaker argued that
after this period ends, breastfeeding is forbidden, and added that the story
of Salem is a legend spread by the enemies of Islam with the aim of
discrediting Aisha, to whom the hadith is attributed. "It is inconceivable,"
he concluded, "that Islam, which commands the believing [men and women] to
lower their eyes [in modesty], should permit a strange man to place his
mouth on the breast of a married woman and suckle from [it]."(8)
Liberal Muslim thinker Gamal Al-Banna argued that, in ancient times, the
issue of breastfeeding adults was not sensitive, but today times and
perceptions have changed. He added, "We always call [to distinguish] within
Islamic tradition [between] hadiths which were published in [certain]
circumstances that have changed [and hadiths that remain valid]..."(9)
Egyptian Columnist: The Fatwa Reflects Intellectual Petrifaction
Al-Sayyid Abd Al-Rauf, former editor of the Egyptian religious government
weekly Aqidati, wrote in his regular column: "Strange and bizarre fatwas
[like the one published by Dr. Atiyya]. sometimes stem from a desire to gain
publicity by unusual means that lie outside the consensus, and [sometimes
stem] from failure to understand the [current] reality of the Islamic
nation. The reality of the modern world, with all its struggles and changes,
requires new outlooks that acknowledge the Islamic legal tradition and
maintain its principles, [but at the same time] deal with the changes in
[this tradition] - in accordance with the principle that fatwas must change
with time and place.
"In some instances, fatwas like this also reflect a frozen outlook, a
petrified point of view, and an insistence on drawing conclusions from an
incident that occurred to specific individuals in specific circumstances,
applying them to a different reality, and [then] publicizing [this] ruling.
"Some clerics are dragging the nation back [into the past] or are spreading
opinions that provoke conflicts and struggles. Some do it to satisfy the
rulers, whether in quest for power, publicity and money or out of belief in
ancient opinions, and without exercising their own minds."(10)
Uproar in Ruling Party Weekly over Publication of Fatwa
The interview with Dr. Atiyya published in Al-Watani Al-Yawm, the weekly of
the ruling National Democratic Party, caused an uproar among party members,
and the Egyptian information minister ordered that the issue with the
interview be removed from sellers' shelves.(11) Dr. Ali Al-Din Hilal, member
of the party's general secretariat, said: "Al-Watani Al-Yawm is the
newspaper of the party, which expresses its ideas and opinions." Hilal
decried the publication of Dr. Atiyya's opinions, saying that "they are
damaging to all of us, especially since we bring them into our homes, and
our children read them." Many party members sent faxes to the party
secretariat in which they expressed their opposition to the articles on the
fatwa in Al-Watani Al-Yawm. They claimed that these articles were damaging
to the newspaper and to party members, especially during the elections
campaign, when there are more people looking out for the party's
mistakes."(12)
In response, Al-Watani Al-Yawm published a clarification: "We emphasize that
we are opposed to the fatwa. When we published it... our aim was to direct
attention to the existence of such ideas in Al-Azhar, [and to the fact that
these ideas] are to be studied in Al-Azhar in the coming year. We emphasize
that our aim in publishing [the interview] was not to endorse the fatwa;
rather, it was an attempt to bring [the fatwa] to the attention of the
senior Al-Azhar scholars, so that they would investigate its author,
especially since he is head of the Hadith Department in the Faculty of
Theology, and the alumni [of this faculty] are thousands of preachers who
occupy the pulpits of the mosques, and spread [the opinions] that they have
learned to the public in Egypt and in the [rest of the] world. We hoped that
Al-Azhar would speedily intervene and clarify the truth to the public.
"Since Dr. Atiyya has expressed very bold opinions on the Egyptian culture
channel, which is broadcast into every Egyptian home - and this without
needing [any] permit, as he is part of the Egyptian Information Ministry -
and since his ideas were provocative to us, we saw it as [our] duty to
approach him and discuss [his ideas] with him, and so we did. We recorded
his answers on two tapes. Due to their boldness, we feared that he would
[later] retract [them], so we asked him to write them out in his own
handwriting. But he did not retract his ideas, [but] wrote us his bold
opinions in his own hand."(13)
*L. Lavi is a research fellow at MEMRI
Endnotes:
(1) Al-Watani Al-Yawm (Egypt), May 15, 2007.
(2) Alarabiya.net, May 21, 2007.
Inquiry & Analysis-Egypt
May 25, 2007
No. 355
Al-Azhar Lecturer Suspended after Issuing Controversial Fatwa Recommending
Breastfeeding of Men by Women in the Workplace
To view this Inquiry and Analysis in HTML, visit:
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA35507 .
By L. Lavi*
The head of the Hadith Department in Al-Azhar University, Dr. Izzat Atiyya,
recently issued a controversial fatwa dealing with breastfeeding of adults.
The fatwa stated that a woman who is required to work in private with a man
not of her immediate family - a situation that is forbidden by Islamic law -
can resolve the problem by breastfeeding the man, which, according to
shari'a, turns him into a member of her immediate family.
The fatwa sparked a storm of protest in the Egyptian public arena,
especially within the religious establishment. It was harshly criticized by
Muslim Brotherhood MPs, who even brought it up for discussion in parliament,
as well as by Egyptian intellectuals and columnists.
In response, Al-Azhar University formed a special committee to debate the
fatwa, and on the recommendation of this committee, Dr. Atiyya was
suspended. The Egyptian information minister ordered the removal from
sellers' shelves of the issue of the government weekly Al-Watani Al-Yawm in
which the fatwa had been published.
Dr. Atiyya, on his part, published a retraction and apologized, saying that
the fatwa was no more than a personal interpretation of a certain hadith,
and furthermore, that the hadith in question relates a particular incident
that occurred under specific constraints, and has no general applicability.
However, Al-Azhar refused to accept his apology.
Head of the Al-Azhar Hadith Department: Breastfeeding Allows a Woman to Be
With a Man in Private
Dr. Izzat Atiyya explained his fatwa in an interview with Al-Watani Al-Yawm,
the weekly of Egypt's ruling National Democratic Front party. He said: "The
religious ruling that appears in the Prophet's conduct [Sunna] confirms that
breastfeeding allows a man and a woman to be together in private, even if
they are not family and if the woman did not nurse the man in his infancy,
before he was weaned - providing that their being together serves some
purpose, religious or secular...
"Being together in private means being in a room with the door closed, so
that nobody can see them... A man and a woman who are not family members are
not permitted [to do this], because it raises suspicions and doubts. A man
and a woman who are alone together are not [necessarily] having sex, but
this possibility exists, and breastfeeding provides a solution to this
problem... I also insist that the breastfeeding relationship be officially
documented in writing... The contract will state that this woman has suckled
this man... After this, the woman may remove her hijab and expose her hair
in the man's [presence]...
Dr. Atiyya further explained that the breastfeeding does not necessarily
have to be done by the woman herself. "The important point," he said, "is
that the man and the woman must be related through breastfeeding. [This can
also be achieved] by means of the man's mother or sister suckling the woman,
or by means of the woman's mother or sister suckling the man, since [all of
these solutions legally] turn them into brother and sister...
"The logic behind [the concept] of breastfeeding an adult is to transform
the bestial relationship between [two people] into a religious relationship
based on [religious] duties... Since [this] breastfeeding takes place
between [two] adults, the man is still permitted to marry the woman [who
breastfed him], whereas [a woman] who nursed [a man] in his infancy is not
permitted to marry him...
"The adult must suckle directly from the [woman's] breast... [This according
to a hadith attributed to Aisha, wife of the Prophet's Muhammad], which
tells of Salem [the adopted son of Abu Hudheifa] who was breastfed by
Abu-Hudheifa's wife when he was already a grown man with a beard, by the
Prophet's order... Other methods, such as [transferring] the milk to a
container, are [less desirable]...
"[As for the possibility of using a breast-pump, which] increases the
production of the milk glands... that is a matter for doctors and religious
scholars who must determine if the milk [thus produced] is real milk, i.e.,
if its composition is identical to that of the [woman's] original milk. If
it is, this method is permissible...
Dr. Atiyya also said: "The fact that the hadith regarding the breastfeeding
of an adult is inconceivable to the mind does not make it invalid. This is a
reliable hadith, and rejecting it is tantamount to rejecting Allah's
Messenger and questioning the Prophet's tradition."(1)
Al-Azhar Examines the Fatwa, Suspends Dr. Atiyya
In response to the uproar caused by the fatwa, Al-Azhar university formed a
committee of several experts on hadiths to investigate the matter. According
to a senior Al-Azhar source, the university president also ordered Dr.
Atiyya to publish an apology, and the latter complied and retracted his
fatwa,(2) explaining: "My statements on the issue of breastfeeding an adult
were based on the imams Ibn Hazm, Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn Al-Qayyim, Al-Shawkani
and Amin Khattab [Al-Subki], and on conclusions I drew from the statements
of Ibn Hajar [Al-Askalani]. However, I hold that only the breastfeeding of
an infant creates a family relationship [that prohibits marriage between the
parties and allows them to be together], as the Four Imams [i.e., the
founders of the four Sunni legal schools] said, while the [act of]
breastfeeding a grown man [mentioned in the hadith] was a [specific]
incident that came to serve a [specific] purpose, and the fatwa I issued was
based solely on my personal interpretation. Based on what I have learned
with my brothers the religious scholars, I apologize for my earlier
[statements] and retract my opinion, which contradicts [the norms accepted]
by the public."(3)
However, the Al-Azhar Supreme Council, headed by Al-Azhar Sheikh Dr.
Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, refused to accept Dr. Atiyya's apology, saying, "We
must not be too lax in matters of religion, especially when the matter at
hand is a fatwa that significantly affects people's actual lives,
inclinations, and views - because it speaks to their natural emotions which
[lead them to] embrace what is permitted and shun prohibitions." Tantawi
said, "Society cannot tolerate [a fatwa] that undermines its religious
stability. There is enough chaos with all the unsupervised fatwas
[published] on some satellite channels. We will never permit this chaos to
spread to the religious establishment and to Al-Azhar."
By the recommendation of the special committee formed to examine the fatwa,
Al-Azhar decided to suspend Dr. Atiyya pending further investigation of his
case.(4)
Egyptian Minister of Religious Endowments Dr. Muhammad Hamdi Zaqzouq
likewise criticized the fatwa, saying: "Fatwas like these harm Islam, serve
our enemies and push the public towards backwardness and ignorance."(5)
*PUBLIC UPROAR OVER DR. ATIYYA'S FATWA
Muslim Brotherhood MPs: This is an Erroneous Fatwa
The issue of breastfeeding adults was brought up for debate in the Egyptian
parliament. Sabri Khalaf Allah from Muslim Brotherhood bloc in the
parliament told the Al-Arabiyya TV website that some 50 MPs had discussed
the issue, had expressed concern over the fact that the fatwa had been
published in the media, but had refrained from submitting a parliamentary
question in order to avoid creating too big an uproar.
Dr. Sayyid Askar, a Muslim Brotherhood MP and former member of the Academy
of Islamic Studies, said that the hadith on which the fatwa is based is
indeed authentic and valid, but that the accepted view among Muslim scholars
is that it refers to a specific case and cannot be applied to other cases.
Therefore, he concluded, Dr. Attiya's fatwa is an erroneous fatwa that goes
against the consensus. "In our modern society," he added, "it makes no sense
to talk of breastfeeding adults."(6)
Intellectuals Object: The Koran Forbids the Breastfeeding of Adults
Dr. Abd Al-Fatah Asaker, who studies Muslim tradition, denied the validity
of the hadith on which the fatwa is based, claiming it is nonsense and
criticized the publication of Abd Al-Qadir's book which regarded it as
valid.(7) In an interview with Al-Watani Al-Yawm, he said: "Would Dr. Abd
Al-Mahdi [Abd Al-Qadr] agree [to let] his wife, daughter, sister or even his
mother breastfeed a grown man - whether a stranger or a family member? Would
the Muslim scholars [want people] to say that their wives breastfeed any man
who comes along?
Asaker argued that the hadiths of Muslim tradition, even those that appear
[in reliable compilations like those of] Al-Bukhari and Muslim, are invalid
if they contradict what is said in the Koran, which states: "Mothers shall
suckle their children for two whole years; [that is] for those who wish to
complete the [full period of] suckling [Koran 2:233]." Asaker argued that
after this period ends, breastfeeding is forbidden, and added that the story
of Salem is a legend spread by the enemies of Islam with the aim of
discrediting Aisha, to whom the hadith is attributed. "It is inconceivable,"
he concluded, "that Islam, which commands the believing [men and women] to
lower their eyes [in modesty], should permit a strange man to place his
mouth on the breast of a married woman and suckle from [it]."(8)
Liberal Muslim thinker Gamal Al-Banna argued that, in ancient times, the
issue of breastfeeding adults was not sensitive, but today times and
perceptions have changed. He added, "We always call [to distinguish] within
Islamic tradition [between] hadiths which were published in [certain]
circumstances that have changed [and hadiths that remain valid]..."(9)
Egyptian Columnist: The Fatwa Reflects Intellectual Petrifaction
Al-Sayyid Abd Al-Rauf, former editor of the Egyptian religious government
weekly Aqidati, wrote in his regular column: "Strange and bizarre fatwas
[like the one published by Dr. Atiyya]. sometimes stem from a desire to gain
publicity by unusual means that lie outside the consensus, and [sometimes
stem] from failure to understand the [current] reality of the Islamic
nation. The reality of the modern world, with all its struggles and changes,
requires new outlooks that acknowledge the Islamic legal tradition and
maintain its principles, [but at the same time] deal with the changes in
[this tradition] - in accordance with the principle that fatwas must change
with time and place.
"In some instances, fatwas like this also reflect a frozen outlook, a
petrified point of view, and an insistence on drawing conclusions from an
incident that occurred to specific individuals in specific circumstances,
applying them to a different reality, and [then] publicizing [this] ruling.
"Some clerics are dragging the nation back [into the past] or are spreading
opinions that provoke conflicts and struggles. Some do it to satisfy the
rulers, whether in quest for power, publicity and money or out of belief in
ancient opinions, and without exercising their own minds."(10)
Uproar in Ruling Party Weekly over Publication of Fatwa
The interview with Dr. Atiyya published in Al-Watani Al-Yawm, the weekly of
the ruling National Democratic Party, caused an uproar among party members,
and the Egyptian information minister ordered that the issue with the
interview be removed from sellers' shelves.(11) Dr. Ali Al-Din Hilal, member
of the party's general secretariat, said: "Al-Watani Al-Yawm is the
newspaper of the party, which expresses its ideas and opinions." Hilal
decried the publication of Dr. Atiyya's opinions, saying that "they are
damaging to all of us, especially since we bring them into our homes, and
our children read them." Many party members sent faxes to the party
secretariat in which they expressed their opposition to the articles on the
fatwa in Al-Watani Al-Yawm. They claimed that these articles were damaging
to the newspaper and to party members, especially during the elections
campaign, when there are more people looking out for the party's
mistakes."(12)
In response, Al-Watani Al-Yawm published a clarification: "We emphasize that
we are opposed to the fatwa. When we published it... our aim was to direct
attention to the existence of such ideas in Al-Azhar, [and to the fact that
these ideas] are to be studied in Al-Azhar in the coming year. We emphasize
that our aim in publishing [the interview] was not to endorse the fatwa;
rather, it was an attempt to bring [the fatwa] to the attention of the
senior Al-Azhar scholars, so that they would investigate its author,
especially since he is head of the Hadith Department in the Faculty of
Theology, and the alumni [of this faculty] are thousands of preachers who
occupy the pulpits of the mosques, and spread [the opinions] that they have
learned to the public in Egypt and in the [rest of the] world. We hoped that
Al-Azhar would speedily intervene and clarify the truth to the public.
"Since Dr. Atiyya has expressed very bold opinions on the Egyptian culture
channel, which is broadcast into every Egyptian home - and this without
needing [any] permit, as he is part of the Egyptian Information Ministry -
and since his ideas were provocative to us, we saw it as [our] duty to
approach him and discuss [his ideas] with him, and so we did. We recorded
his answers on two tapes. Due to their boldness, we feared that he would
[later] retract [them], so we asked him to write them out in his own
handwriting. But he did not retract his ideas, [but] wrote us his bold
opinions in his own hand."(13)
*L. Lavi is a research fellow at MEMRI
Endnotes:
(1) Al-Watani Al-Yawm (Egypt), May 15, 2007.
(2) Alarabiya.net, May 21, 2007.
