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What is the ruling on a wife traveling before the expiration of her waiting period without necessity? And what is the ruling on minor children residing in a country far from their legal guardian and their father's family?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The mother has the primary right to custody of the children after the father's death, but guardianship does not belong to her; rather, it belongs to the children's paternal grandfather, if he exists. If the custodial mother wishes to travel with the children to reside in a country far from their guardian (the grandfather), her right to custody is forfeited. This is because the place of custody is the father's country or that of his guardian (the grandfather), in order to enable his right to see the child and oversee their upbringing. Similarly, it is not permissible for a wife to travel to spend her 'iddah (waiting period) outside the marital home.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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