Is a husband entitled to prevent his wife from taking their children to visit her mother and stay overnight, given that the wife feels her mother-in-law is trying to control the children and distance them from the wife's family?

The husband does not have the right to keep young children away from their mother overnight without her consent. However, this should not be a cause for dispute. It is part of a wife's good character to be kind to her husband's family, overlook their mistakes, and help him honor his parents and maintain kinship ties. This increases his love and respect for her, and such good character weighs heavily in the scales [of good deeds]. The marital relationship should be based on affection, mercy, understanding, overlooking minor faults, and each party considering the other's circumstances.