Section: There is a difference of opinion regarding the subject matter of the contract in nursing. Some have said: It is the service of the child, carrying him, and placing the breast into his mouth, while the milk is secondary, like the dye in the contract of a dyer, or the well water in a house; this is because the milk is an essential substance (ayn), so it cannot be the subject of a hire contract, unlike the milk of a non-human animal. Others said: It is the milk itself. Al-Qadi said: This is more likely, because it is the intended purpose, not the service. This is why if she nurses him without serving him, she is entitled to the wage, whereas if she served him without nursing him, she would not be entitled to anything. Furthermore, Allah the Almighty said: {Then if they suckle for you, give them their due payment}. He made the payment contingent upon nursing, which indicates that it is the subject of the contract. Also, if the contract were for service, it would not be incumbent upon her to feed him her milk. As for it being a substance, the contract for it in a hire agreement was only permitted as a concession (rukhsah), because nothing else can take its place, and necessity dictates its attainment. This was permitted in humans, but not in other animals, due to the necessity of preserving the human and the need to keep him alive.

Section: It is incumbent upon the nursing mother to eat and drink that which causes her milk to flow and improves it, and the hirer may demand this of her, because it is part of completing the capacity for nursing, and neglecting it causes harm to the child. Whenever she does not nurse him and only gives him goat's milk or feeds him, she is not entitled to any wage, because she did not fulfill the subject of the contract, similar to if one hired her to sew a garment and she did not sew it. If she gives him to her servant and she nurses him, it is the same. Abu Thawr held this view. The scholars of reason (Ashab al-Ra'y) said: She is entitled to her wage because his nursing was achieved by her action. We respond: She did not nurse him, so it is similar to if she gave him goat's milk. If they differ, and she says: "I nursed him," and the one who sought the nursing denies it, her statement is accepted because she is an entrusted party.

Section: It is permissible for a man to hire his slave woman, his mudabbarah, his umm walad, one whose emancipation is conditional upon an attribute, or one who has been granted permission to engage in trade, for nursing, because it is a contract for her benefit, similar to hiring her for service. None of them may hire herself out, because her benefit belongs to her master. If she has a child,