Question
Man divorces his wife , they have 2 small children. Please explain who gets custody of the children. Under what conditions can the mother stop the father from taking the children. Please explain.
Answer
The rules of custody have been clearly defined by the Fuqaha. In a case of divorce, the mother gets custody of her son until the age of seven, and in the case of a daughter until the age of nine. Thereafter (after the age of seven where the child is a boy and after the age of nine in a girl), the
father is awarded custody of the children.
The mother may stop the father from taking the children if she wishes; more so if he is involved in such acts of sin and transgression that will have a negative impact on the child. In such a case, the father should be allowed to visit the children at their current place of residing.
If such a situation does not exist (where the father’s conduct has a negative impact on the children’s upbringing), then both parties should preferably work on a mutual agreement as to which weekends or holidays will be spent with the mother and which will be spent with the father, even though a particular parent is entitled to custody at that point of time.
Checked and Approved By:
Mufti Muhammed Saeed Motara Saheb D.B.
References
شامى ص ٥٦٦ ج ٦