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Is a mother entitled to the custody of her eight-year-old son after her marriage to another man, knowing that his paternal uncle is his legal guardian?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The mother has the primary right to custody of a child before the age of discernment. Her custody rights are forfeited if she marries a man who is a stranger to the child, based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "You have more right to him as long as you do not marry." However, her custody is not forfeited if she marries a relative of the child, such as his paternal uncle. If the son reaches the age of discernment (seven years), he is given the choice between his parents. If the father is not present, the child is given the choice between his mother and his paternal uncle. The choice is given between the two parties if they are both qualified for custody. If the two parties do not agree, the matter is referred to the Sharia court.

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

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