Is it permissible for the husband to accept a khul‘ in exchange for the return of the dowry and the wife’s waiver of maintenance for breastfeeding, pregnancy, and the children, knowing that the wife desires a divorce after the husband rejected her conditions, and she is pregnant and they have one child, and her residence in another city may make it difficult for the father to see his children?

You are not obliged to fulfill your wife's requests for frequent travel to her family, a special allowance in addition to her maintenance, or permission to stay outside her home with her friends. She does not have the right to refuse to return to you by making such conditions. If she refuses, she is disobedient and rebellious against Allah, and whoever assists her in this is a partner in her sin. It is not permissible for her to request divorce (talaq) or khul' based on what has been mentioned.

We advise you to try to reconcile and appease her. If she insists on khul', there is no harm in accepting it. It is permissible for it to be in exchange for the full dowry or anything else you both agree upon, for Allah Almighty says: "And it is not lawful for you to take anything of what you have given them, unless both fear that they will not be able to keep [within] the limits of Allah. But if you fear that they will not be able to keep [within] the limits of Allah, then there is no blame upon either of them concerning that by which she ransoms herself. These are the limits of Allah, so do not transgress them."

It is also permissible for khul' to be in exchange for the children's maintenance according to the Hanbalis and Shafi'is, provided that it is specified and free from ambiguity. The custody of children after khul' is the right of the mother unless there is an impediment such as immorality or marriage.