Q: A man married a woman and divorced her and they did not have any children. Then he married for the second time and had children and his second wife breast-fed a boy for two months after his mother's death. This man was married for the third and fourth times and had children. What is the ruling on the following:1- Are the four wives of this man considered Mahrams (unmarriageable relatives) to the boy who was breast-fed by the second wife? Are they considered his foster-mothers or is it the second wife only?2- Is the wife of that boy considered a Mahram to the man whose wife breast-fed him since the boy becomes like his consanguine son?3- Are the sons and daughters of this man considered as foster brothers and sisters of this boy?Please advise. May Allah reward you best.

A: First, if the reality is as you mentioned, and the second wife of the man breast-fed the boy during the first two years of the boy's life, this boy is a Mahram to the man's wives and the man becomes his foster-father. Allah (Exalted be He) says: And marry not women whom your fathers married, except what has already passed (Part No. 17; Page No. 344) It was authentically reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "The same people become Mahrams through breastfeeding as those who are Mahrams through blood ties." Second, the wife of this boy becomes Mahram to this man as she is considered his stepdaughter. Allah (Exalted be He) says: ...the wives of your sons who (spring) from your own loins This is also based on the previously-mentioned Hadith. Third, all those who were breast-fed by the man's wives are the boy's foster brothers and sisters. May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.