Related by Milk, Not by Blood

MAKKAH, 7 March 2007 — In Islam people can be siblings even if they don’t share the same parents — if as babies they were breastfed by the same mother, they are considered siblings. Considering this information, it was no wonder a wedding was called off two hours before the ceremony when a woman revealed that she had breastfed the bride and groom when they were infants, and so even though they weren’t related by blood they are brother and sister and therefore could not be married, the daily Al-Madinah reported yesterday.