The Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine

          Although they have known that mother’s milk is the food of choice for the child during childhood, however, the Muslim jurists differ on whether she should be ordered by the court to suckle the child or not. The Hanafis maintain that the law cannot compel her, unless the child will take no other breast but hers, or unless no other woman can be found to suckle the child, or unless the child and the father are so poor that they cannot pay anyone. In other words, the mother may be compelled by the father to nurse her child if no suitable nurse other than the mother is available, if neither the father nor the child have any property, or if the child refuses any other breast, but the mother’s.[7] On the other hand, the Malikis, who are really emphasis on the right of child for suckling, hold that the mother is under the legal religious obligation to feed her baby, regardless of whether she is still married to child’s father or divorced from him, unless it is not the custom of her class to suckle babies. They make an exception in the latter case if the baby refuses another breast, whereby the mother is entitled to a compensation like that of a divorced mother.[8]

Now, it is appropriate to highlight the medical benefits of breast-feeding. Muslim physicians and modern medical researchers are of the view that the mother’s milk is the best food for the child during the first stage of life. The following passage is a scientific research on the benefits of mother’s milk:

Scholars, researchers and physicians the world over agree that mother’s milk is the best food for infants which keeps them healthy and guards them against various diseases. It is the elixir for their lives. It is seen in the mammals, as well as, in the human beings that their own milk is best suited for their suckling. For instance, cow’s milk is best suited for its calves as they need quick physical growth to use their four legs for their sustenance and survival. Their mental growth is not so important as the physical one. But in human beings the infants do not need that much physical energy which is needed for the mammals as they are not required to walk and look for their own sustenance. On the contrary, human babies require first the speedy development of their mental faculties and the nervous system, so that they can digest, sleep, feel, understand and speak normally. Mother’s milk sufficiently caters to these needs of an infant in an efficient and natural way. That is why the babies who are fed with the cow’s milk usually suffer from constipation or diarrhea. Mother’s milk contains 4% fats, while the milk of a seal (mammal-fish) has 40% more fats as compared to that of a human mother. This is due to the fact that seal, immediately after her birth, requires a layer of fat beneath her skin to resist the ice-cold waters. On the contrary, a very high rate of protein is found in the milk of a female rabbit. It is ten times more than in the human milk. For this reason, their suckling grow faster. Their weight becomes double than the day they were born within six days of their birth, while a human baby normally requires six months to be double of the weight, since the day they were born. Such are the laws of nature. It is surprising to note that nowadays, even infants are suffering from arterial diseases of the heart. But the children who are suckled by their mothers remain safe from such diseases.[9]

          Clearly from the above quotation that mother’s milk has immense benefits compared to cows milk. Its natural content is the most suitable degree of vitamin which aids growth and helps resists external as well as internal infections to which all babies are susceptible. Furthermore, the child is able to receive mother’s milk considerably less calcium than does cow’s milk but it is presumed to be naturally adequate to meet his need in that time. More importantly, the benefits of suckling by mother’s milk, being a perfect and safe diet, is not only limited to bodily benefit, but its psychological effects are also far reaching. The child, who suckles within her warm embrace, does not only receive the best nourishment, it also feels secure and loved. This sense of security makes the child grow into a normal balanced person. It is confirmed by psychologists, psychiatrists and sociologists that the harmful and rapid increase in behavior disorders and psychological diseases are mainly due to lack of love, care and affection for children from their parents. In many countries, the study was found that children become rebellious and begin harboring the feelings of hate and revenge towards their busy parents mainly because they feel that their parents, particularly the mothers who are busy in economical pursuits, do not give enough time to make their children feel secured through their love, care and affection. In this condition, both categories of such mothers and children not only lose the pleasures of their own lives, they also add to the score of socio-psychological problems of their society.[10]  In 1996, Dr. Rozumah Baharudin, a Professor of Family Developmental Studies, Faculty of Human Ecology, University Putra Malaysia, conducted an academic research on the influence of the behavior of Malay mothers upon their children. To do this, she had used 128 Malay mothers with children aged 8 to 9 years as the sample in her study. After collection data and assessing them by using Home Observation for measurement of the Environment (HOME), she found that motherly characteristics, child characteristics and contextual factors are all related to the child behavior and attitude. Mothers with higher level of education, self-esteem and family income showed better quality parenting than other mothers in the study. Furthermore, the mother, who gives enough time to take care her child, is able to know better the personality of a child than other mothers. As a result, such a mother is enabled to decide what is best for her child based on his/her ability and inclination. If a child has the inclination to pursue a specific field of knowledge, then, she strongly encouraged, praised and motivated in order to excel progressively and continuously. Likewise, if not having inclinations in any field of knowledge, she will not persuade him. Otherwise, all labor will be in vain.[11]