Rights and Obligations Towards Children
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Please help me to determine what rights and obligations a father and mother may have towards their children in case of divorce...especially the question...do the children belong to the father in Islam?
Please also help with any Quranic ayats to support your opinions.
Or if this topic has been discussed previously, please provide the link...Thanks
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Peace aly-sam,
Please help me to determine what rights and obligations a father and mother may have towards their children in case of divorce...especially the question...do the children belong to the father in Islam?
Please also help with any Quranic ayats to support your opinions.
Or if this topic has been discussed previously, please provide the link...Thanks
Divorced mothers shall nurse their infants two full years, if the father so wishes. The father shall provide the mother's food and clothing equitably. No one shall be burdened beyond his ability. No mother shall be harmed on account of her infant, nor shall the father be harmed because of his infant. (If the father dies), his inheritor shall assume these responsibilities. If the infant's parents mutually agree to part, after due consultation, they commit no error by doing so. You commit no error by hiring nursing mothers, so long as you pay them equitably. You shall observe GOD, and know that GOD is Seer of everything you do.
From that alone, it seems that the mothers have custody of the children, at least during the feeding period. Also, mothers are naturally keen to taking care of their children compared to men. So I think that the men have full custody, while the women are able to nurse if the father allows so.
Heres one I found regarding Hadith, although most of us here do not hold it up as a law source as Quran. http//muslimsinkenya.wordpress.com/2007/06/26/a-childs-custody-after-divorce/
In Islamic Law, the custody of the infant is a woman?s right unless she gets married or until the child reaches seven years of age. A woman said to the Prophet (peace be upon him) ?This son of mine ? my womb carried him, my breast fed him and my lap was a bed for him. Now his father has divorced me and wants to take him away from me. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said ?You have the priority to take him unless you get remarried.? .
If the woman gets remarried and the father disputes with her over custody, then the right for custody transfers to the woman?s mother unless she is not legally fit to fulfill the duty. If she is not fit, then and only then will custody transfer to the father.
When the male child reaches seven years of age, he gets to choose between staying with his mother or his father. He will go with whomever he wants to.
A woman came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said ?My husband wants to take my son away from me.?
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to the child ?This is your father and this your mother, so take the hand of whom you like.? The boy took the hand of his mother and they went together.
Peace
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Thanks for your reply amuslim.
I would go for the explanantion in the hadith for my own benefit, but since I am unable to authenticate it using the Quran, I would then have to go with the 233 and assume that the children (after the nursing age) belong to the father? Does this cover all situations? How about if the father had barely provided for the children financially or with his presence...can he then claim the children as belonging to him?
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Thank you elke..I too believe that God would want whats best for the child...however where is that stated?
See I am dealing with someone who believes if Islam says so then it must be so. And so I need to know how to counter-argue with him (if necessary) as it seems clearly stated in the Quran that father has child custody after age 2.
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Peace aly-sam,
Thank you elke..I too believe that God would want whats best for the child...however where is that stated?
See I am dealing with someone who believes if Islam says so then it must be so. And so I need to know how to counter-argue with him (if necessary) as it seems clearly stated in the Quran that father has child custody after age 2.
I believe the same, however in a perfect situation (not the divorce, but parenting) then I believe in 2233. I think its obvious that if the father is not a provider and if its better with the mother then it should go to the mother. Its a general circumstance IMO. If the dad is going to beat the kid, why keep the kid with the dad? Also, if you put together what the Quran says on various aspects, that would be the conclusion in the matter, at least for me.
Peace