upon her; however, he may not prevent them from seeing or speaking to her whenever they wish.
If a husband becomes unable to provide his wife’s maintenance, they are not separated; rather, she is told, “Borrow on his account.”
When a man is absent, and property of his is in someone else’s hands, and both his identity and his marriage are known, the judge may allot maintenance for the absent man’s wife, his minor children, and his parents out of that property, taking from the wife a guarantor for the amount. No maintenance may be decreed against the absentee’s assets for anyone other than these.
If the judge had fixed her allowance on the basis of the husband’s insolvency and he later prospers, then, should she sue him, her maintenance is increased to the rate due from a solvent husband.
Should a period pass in which the husband has given her no maintenance and she later demands it, she receives nothing—unless the judge had already set an allowance for her, or she and the husband had agreed on a specific amount; in either of those cases the judge awards her the maintenance for the elapsed time.
If the husband dies after judgment has been entered against him for maintenance, and months have already passed, the obligation lapses.
If he had prepaid her maintenance for a full year and then died, part of it is reclaimed from her. Muhammad said: she keeps the allowance for the time that has passed, while the remainder reverts to the husband’s estate.
When a slave marries a freewoman, her maintenance becomes a debt upon him, and he may be sold to discharge it.
If a man marries a slave-woman and her master lodges her with him, the husband is responsible for her maintenance; if her master does not lodge her with him, she is not entitled to maintenance.
The maintenance of minor children rests exclusively with the father; no one shares this burden with him, just as no one shares with him the maintenance of his wife.
If the child is of humble status, the mother is under no obligation to nurse him; the father must hire a wet-nurse to suckle the child in her care. Should he hire her while she is still his wife or still in her waiting period to nurse her own child, it is invalid; but once her waiting period has elapsed, he may hire her to do so.
If the father says, “I will not hire her,” and brings another wet-nurse, yet the mother is willing to nurse the child for the same wage as the stranger, the mother has the stronger claim; but if she demands more, the husband is not bound to accept.
The maintenance of the minor is incumbent upon his father even if the child follows a different religion, just as the wife’s maintenance is incumbent upon the husband even if she follows a different religion.
43 – Book of Custody
When the spouses separate, the mother has the foremost right to the child. If the mother is unavailable, the maternal grandmother takes precedence over the paternal grandmother; if there is no maternal grandmother, the paternal grandmother takes precedence over the sisters. If there is no grandmother, the sisters are preferred to the paternal and maternal aunts, the full sister (sharing both parents) coming before the maternal sister, then the sister by