Infants, Parents and Wet Nurses: Medieval Islamic Views on Breastfeeding and Their Social Implications: 25 (Islamic History & Civilization) - Tapa dura

'...Giladi has provided a very useful introduction to an important topic in Islamic law which will be essential reading for anyone interested in legal aspects of Muslim family relationship.' Ulrike Freitag, Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, 2000. 'On the whole, Giladi has brought to us a work not only of value to the specialist in classical Islamic law, but also for those interested in how the discourse of motherhood has developed since then...Giladi's book provides a wealth of material.' Hina Azam, Journal of Islamic Studies '.

This volume examines early Islamic theories and practices of breastfeeding, their long-term social implications and their impact on the lives of women and children. In the light of the impediments to marriage created, according to Islamic law, by nonmaternal breastfeeding, the author also explores the role they have played in wider circles of social life: how they influenced the way relations between different families were established, reduced the occurence of endogamous marriages, and created semiprivate spaces. This is the first comprehensive research, within western Islamology, devoted to the subject, serving as it were as a link between Women's History and History of Childhood. It is based on a wide range of religious sources - from Qur'an, Qur'an exegesis, through hadith to legal writings - as well as on medieval Arabic medical compilations.