Who has more right to custody, the father or the mother, and does the children's maintenance obligation fall away from the father if the mother insists on taking them with her?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
"The issue of who has the greater right to custody and the circumstances under which it is forfeited is a matter of scholarly disagreement. A might not be very helpful in this regard, and it is necessary to refer to the court to determine the best interest of the children regarding with whom they should stay. As for the children's maintenance, it is not forfeited by the mother's insistence on keeping them with her, as there is no necessary correlation between maintenance and custody."
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/140887
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 140887
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy