Marriage life is not like a movie when everyone can get a happy ending. Sometimes, it’s hard to face that divorce becomes the only way to an unsuccessful marriage. But, it does not mean that they don’t deserve a happy ending. May a divorce is the best way for them to achieve their happy ending.
The circumstances will be different in the case of a divorce with children. Child custody becomes the most crucial thing in so many divorce issues. After the separation as the result of the divorce letter released, the child custody belongs to the mother until they come of an age to decide where they want to live. It is already written in the Quran surah AL Baqarah verse 233.
وَالْوَالِدٰتُ يُرْضِعْنَ اَوْلَادَهُنَّ حَوْلَيْنِ كَامِلَيْنِ لِمَنْ اَرَادَ اَنْ يُّتِمَّ الرَّضَاعَةَ ۗ
“And mothers should breastfeed their children for two whole years, for those who want to breastfeed perfectly.”
Based on that verse, Islam taught is that mother should breastfeed their child up to twenty-four months after she gives birth. Meanwhile, for a mother who does remarried based on the Islamic law of remarried without divorce, the case will be different.
The point is how about child custody in Islamic law? How Islam face this problem? Here we have 5 Islamic laws of child custody’s right that you should know.
1. The Extent of Child Custody
Being the child after the parents decide to divorce becomes difficult, moreover to whom that still a baby. That is why there are two extents of child custody in Islam law.
وَاُولُوا الْاَرْحَامِ بَعْضُهُمْ اَوْلٰى بِبَعْضٍ فِيْ كِتٰبِ اللّٰهِ ۗ
“Some people who have relatives are more entitled to each other (than non-relatives) according to the Book of God.”
2. The Boundary for Child Custody
There are some qualifications that the mother should fulfill even if she got the child up to seven years. Basic on the Quran, the mother and the father should be Muslim, have some good intellectually, and trusted to be mother or father in case they harm the child.
While the child is under age, the father should give full support to fulfill the child’s living expenses.
Even if they want another relative to breastfeed the child so that the father should give the full expenses of the child. The relatives should raise the child such as the rule of rights of orphan in Islam.
Based on the Quran surah Al Baqarah verse 233,
لَا تُضَاۤرَّ وَالِدَةٌ ۢبِوَلَدِهَا وَلَا مَوْلُوْدٌ لَّهٗ بِوَلَدِهٖ وَعَلَى الْوَارِثِ مِثْلُ ذٰلِكَ ۚ فَاِنْ اَرَادَا فِصَالًا عَنْ تَرَاضٍ مِّنْهُمَا وَتَشَاوُرٍ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِمَا ۗوَاِنْ اَرَدْتُّمْ اَنْ تَسْتَرْضِعُوْٓا اَوْلَادَكُمْ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ اِذَا سَلَّمْتُمْ مَّآ اٰتَيْتُمْ بِالْمَعْرُوْفِۗ
“Don’t a mother suffer because of her child and neither should a father (suffer) because of his child. Heirs (obliged) like that too. If both of them want to wean with agreement and deliberation between the two, then there is no sin on both. And if you want to feed your child to others, then there is no sin for you to pay in an appropriate manner.”
3. The Forfeit Child Custody
If during the divorce process the juridic decide that the parents not allow getting the child custody, who will overtake the responsibility for the child? Losing their child custody feels like deprivation for them.
But, as mentions in the Quran, surah Al Anfal verse 75 the relatives should undertake the child. They can do the concept of adoption in Islam and should raise the child as the fiqh perspective when raising children.
وَاُولُوا الْاَرْحَامِ بَعْضُهُمْ اَوْلٰى بِبَعْضٍ فِيْ كِتٰبِ اللّٰهِ ۗ
“Some people who have relatives are more entitled to each other (than non-relatives) according to the Book of God.”
4. Father Duty for Child Custody
Even if the father does not belong to get full child custody, but the Responsible one to pay the expense for the child is the father. The expenses he pays are full for the child only, and if he wants to give some to his ex-wife which is the mother of his child so there are no rules to forbidden that.
This is also the way as to how to become a good husband in Islam even get a divorce. Based on the Quran surah At-Talaq verse 6,
اَسْكِنُوْهُنَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ سَكَنْتُمْ مِّنْ وُّجْدِكُمْ وَلَا تُضَاۤرُّوْهُنَّ لِتُضَيِّقُوْا عَلَيْهِنَّۗ وَاِنْ كُنَّ اُولَاتِ حَمْلٍ فَاَنْفِقُوْا عَلَيْهِنَّ حَتّٰى يَضَعْنَ حَمْلَهُنَّۚ فَاِنْ اَرْضَعْنَ لَكُمْ فَاٰتُوْهُنَّ اُجُوْرَهُنَّۚ وَأْتَمِرُوْا بَيْنَكُمْ بِمَعْرُوْفٍۚ وَاِنْ تَعَاسَرْتُمْ فَسَتُرْضِعُ لَهٗٓ اُخْرٰىۗ – ٦
“Place them (wives) where you live according to your abilities and do not trouble them to narrow (their hearts). And if they (the wives who have been barked) are pregnant, then give them their living until they give birth, then if they suckle (your children) then give them rewards, and deliberate among you (all things) well; and if you encounter difficulties, then another woman may suckle (the child) for her.”
5. Other Regulation of Child Custody
There still a lot of other regulations of child custody such as if the mother is married again. If this is happening so the mother will be lost her child custody.
If the mother not supposed to get her child custody because of her physical or mental cases such as have an illness, so the child custody may belong to the father or the closest relatives such as a grandmother. Joint custody between the mother and the father is lawful to do as long as for the best for their child.
So, there are 5 laws about child custody based on Islamic law that you should know.
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