and a maternal aunt takes precedence over the daughter of a brother or of a sister, while the daughter of a brother or sister comes before a paternal aunt. A full sister ranks ahead of a half-sister, and the sounder opinion places a paternal half-sister above a maternal half-sister. A maternal or paternal aunt who is related through the father outstrips one related through the mother. Any grandmother who does not inherit drops from the list, whereas every female relative of a lower generation—even if she is not a maḥram—such as a maternal cousin’s daughter, retains the right.

Custody is affirmed for every male relative who is both a maḥram and an heir, following the order of inheritance; the same holds, according to the stronger view, for a non-maḥram male such as a paternal cousin. A girl who has reached an age at which she might be desired is not handed over to such a man; rather, she is placed with a trustworthy woman whom he appoints. If both inheritance and maḥramhood are lacking—or even inheritance alone, on the sounder view—no right to custody exists.

When both male and female claimants are present, priority goes to the mother, then to her mothers, then to the father. Some scholars give the maternal aunt and the uterine sister precedence over the father. A direct ascendant is preferred to a collateral relative; if there is no ascendant, the sounder view selects the nearest relative, and if two are equally near, preference is given to the female; if they are still indistinguishable, the matter is decided by lot.

A slave, a madman, an open sinner, or a non-Muslim has no custody over a Muslim child. Likewise disqualified is a woman married to anyone other than the child’s father—except, on the stronger opinion, when her husband is the child’s paternal uncle, paternal cousin, or nephew. If the child is still nursing, it is a condition, according to the sound view, that she agree to suckle him. When a formerly ineligible woman becomes eligible, or a married custodian is divorced, she regains her right; and if the mother is absent or refuses, custody passes—on the sound view—to the grandmother.

Everything mentioned so far concerns a child who has not yet reached discernment. A discerning boy or girl whose parents separate stays with whichever of them he or she chooses. If one parent is insane, non-Muslim, a slave, openly sinful, or married to another, the right belongs to the other. The child is likewise offered a choice between mother and grandfather, between brother and paternal uncle, or between father on one side and paternal or maternal aunt on the other, according to the sounder opinion. Should the child first choose one and then the other, he is transferred to the latter.

If a boy chooses the father, the father may not prevent him from visiting his mother; if it is a girl, he may. Yet he may not bar the mother from entering the house to visit them, and the ordinary allowance is one visit every few days. If either child falls ill, the mother has first right to nurse them: if the father accepts this in his own house, so be it; otherwise, it is done in hers.

When a boy chooses the mother, he stays with her at night and with the father by day, so that the father may discipline him and send him to school or to learn a trade. If it is a girl, she remains with the mother day and night, the father visiting in the usual manner. If the child chooses both parents, lots are drawn; if the child makes no choice, the mother is preferred—though another opinion also calls for drawing lots.

Should one parent set out on a journey for some need, the child—whether discerning or not—stays with the one who remains until the traveller returns. If the journey is a permanent relocation, the father has the stronger claim, provided the route is safe and the intended town is not beyond the distance that triggers the traveller’s concession of shortening prayer. Among agnate maḥram relatives the ruling is the same as for the father; a paternal cousin may take a boy but not a girl—unless his own daughter accompanies them, in which case the girl is entrusted to her.