What are the rights of a wife who has custody of the children if she asks for a divorce?
For a wife who requests divorce after consummation, there are two situations:
The first: If she requests it due to the husband's dereliction of her rights, or a character trait that harms her, or his committing of major sins. Here, the husband must divorce her and grant her all her rights: the full dowry, maintenance, and lodging during the (waiting period) if the divorce is revocable. As for an irrevocable divorce, there is no maintenance or lodging for the divorced woman. If she is the custodian of children, he is obligated to pay for custody, breastfeeding, and the children's maintenance. It is not permissible for him to pressure her to waive her rights.
The second: If she requests divorce without a reason from the husband. In this case, the husband has the right to ask her to return the dowry in exchange for divorcing her (khul'). In this situation, the only rights remaining for her are the wages for breastfeeding and custody, and the maintenance of the infant child. There is no maintenance or lodging for her after khul'.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/11766
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 11766
- 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