Short answer
Not by adoption alone. As an adopted child nears puberty, the normal hijab and privacy rules apply between the child and adoptive family members of the opposite sex. In the Hanafi school the child becomes mahram to a woman who nurses it, or to the relatives of the woman who nurses it, before age two.
Adoption creates no mahram relationship. Nursing within the first two years does: the nursing woman, her children and her siblings become the child's milk relatives. The case of Salim, who was nursed as an adult, is treated as specific to him.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Five separate feeds within two years are needed to create the milk relationship.
- Hanbali
- Five separate feeds within two years, in the relied-upon view.
Explanation
Since an adopted child is not your child in lineage, the adopted girl and her adoptive father, or the adopted boy and his adoptive mother, are not mahram to each other. While the child is small this changes nothing. As the child approaches puberty, hijab, privacy and seclusion rules apply as with any non-mahram.
The nursing route: milk kinship creates mahram ties when the nursing happens before the baby is two lunar years old. Families in the West often plan for this:
- The adoptive mother nurses the baby, sometimes with induced lactation under medical guidance. The child becomes her milk child.
- The adoptive mother's sister or mother nurses the baby. The child becomes mahram to the adoptive mother as a milk nephew or niece.
- The adoptive father's sister or mother nurses the baby. The child becomes mahram to him in the same way.
Whether the adoptive father becomes a milk father through his wife's induced milk is a fine point that scholars discuss, so ask a mufti about your exact case before relying on it.
Older children: nursing after two years has no effect in the Hanafi school or the other three. Sahlah was told to nurse Salim, a grown man raised in her home, and most scholars, the four schools among them, hold this was a special permission for that family. A few scholars allowed it for real need, but this is a minority view. See milk kinship, the adopted child's surname and awrah rules.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Ahzaab 33:4
مَّا جَعَلَ ٱللَّهُ لِرَجُلٍۢ مِّن قَلْبَيْنِ فِى جَوْفِهِۦ ۚ وَمَا جَعَلَ أَزْوَٰجَكُمُ ٱلَّٰٓـِٔى تُظَٰهِرُونَ مِنْهُنَّ أُمَّهَٰتِكُمْ ۚ وَمَا جَعَلَ أَدْعِيَآءَكُمْ أَبْنَآءَكُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ قَوْلُكُم بِأَفْوَٰهِكُمْ ۖ وَٱللَّهُ يَقُولُ ٱلْحَقَّ وَهُوَ يَهْدِى ٱلسَّبِيلَ ﴿٤﴾
Allah has not made for a man two hearts in his interior. And He has not made your wives whom you declare unlawful your mothers. And he has not made your adopted sons your [true] sons. That is [merely] your saying by your mouths, but Allah says the truth, and He guides to the [right] way.
Adoption does not create the relationship of a real son.
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:23
حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ أُمَّهَٰتُكُمْ وَبَنَاتُكُمْ وَأَخَوَٰتُكُمْ وَعَمَّٰتُكُمْ وَخَٰلَٰتُكُمْ وَبَنَاتُ ٱلْأَخِ وَبَنَاتُ ٱلْأُخْتِ وَأُمَّهَٰتُكُمُ ٱلَّٰتِىٓ أَرْضَعْنَكُمْ وَأَخَوَٰتُكُم مِّنَ ٱلرَّضَٰعَةِ وَأُمَّهَٰتُ نِسَآئِكُمْ وَرَبَٰٓئِبُكُمُ ٱلَّٰتِى فِى حُجُورِكُم مِّن نِّسَآئِكُمُ ٱلَّٰتِى دَخَلْتُم بِهِنَّ فَإِن لَّمْ تَكُونُوا۟ دَخَلْتُم بِهِنَّ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَحَلَٰٓئِلُ أَبْنَآئِكُمُ ٱلَّذِينَ مِنْ أَصْلَٰبِكُمْ وَأَن تَجْمَعُوا۟ بَيْنَ ٱلْأُخْتَيْنِ إِلَّا مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ غَفُورًۭا رَّحِيمًۭا ﴿٢٣﴾
Prohibited to you [for marriage] are your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your father's sisters, your mother's sisters, your brother's daughters, your sister's daughters, your [milk] mothers who nursed you, your sisters through nursing, your wives' mothers, and your step-daughters under your guardianship [born] of your wives unto whom you have gone in. But if you have not gone in unto them, there is no sin upon you. And [also prohibited are] the wives of your sons who are from your [own] loins, and that you take [in marriage] two sisters simultaneously, except for what has already occurred. Indeed, Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful.
Nursing does create lasting kinship.
Sahih Muslim 1453
Sahih... أرضعيه تحرمي عليه ...
"Nurse him and you will become unlawful for him to marry."
The case of Salim, which most scholars treat as specific to that family.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2645
Sahih... يحرم من الرضاع ما يحرم من النسب ...
"What is made unlawful by blood kinship is made unlawful by nursing."
Nursing gives the child mahram relatives.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Rada'. Nursing within the period creates kinship; adult nursing does not.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Rada'. Discusses the hadith of Salim and why most scholars restrict it.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.