or the non-Muslim embraces Islam, or the married woman is divorced, then the impediment having disappeared, the person concerned resumes his or her right to custody, for the cause of that right is present while the obstacle is gone.

If either of the child’s parents wishes to undertake a lengthy journey—without intending harm—to settle in a distant land, and both the destination and the route are secure, custody is awarded to the father, whether he is the one travelling or the one remaining behind, for he is the parent charged with disciplining and safeguarding his child. Should he be far away, he cannot fulfil that duty and the child would be lost.

If, however, the journey is to a nearby town, shorter than the distance that allows the shortening of prayers, for the purpose of residence, custody belongs to the mother, whether she is the traveller or the resident. She is more tender-hearted toward the child, and in that case the father can still supervise his son.

When the trip is only for a temporary need after which the parent will return, or when the road or the destination is unsafe, custody reverts to the parent who stays, because taking the child along in either situation would harm him.

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “If the father seeks to harm the mother and contrives to strip her of custody by travelling so that the child will follow him, this is a stratagem that contradicts the Lawgiver, for the Lawgiver granted the mother a stronger claim to the child than the father so long as the homes are close and meeting is possible at any time …”.

He also said: “The Prophet ﷺ informed us that whoever separates a mother from her child, Allah will separate him from those he loves on the Day of Resurrection; and he forbade selling a mother without her child or a child without the mother, even if both are in the same town. How, then, can it be permissible, by means of such ruses, to separate her from her child in a way that makes seeing and meeting him difficult and painful for her…"