Al-Muqaddimāt al-Mumahhidāt - Ibn Rush al-Jadd - (1/571)

Al-Muqaddimāt al-MumahhidātIbn Rush al-Jadd

milk with which a child is nursed brings him greater blessing than his mother’s milk. Those who explain this ruling by her right to custody hold that, if the father finds someone willing to nurse the child free of charge at the mother’s home, she has no grounds to object. Those who explain it by the other rationale hold that her grounds for objection remain valid. Ibn Wahb narrated from Mālik that, if the mother is unwilling to nurse the child free of charge or for the fee the father has found, he may entrust the child to someone willing to nurse him free of charge or for that fee. This means that the wet nurse nurses him at his mother’s home without removing him from her custody. This position accords more closely with the apparent meaning of Allah’s words, Exalted is He:

“But if you find yourselves in difficulty, then another woman will nurse him.” [al-Talāq: 6]

If, however, the mother refuses to nurse him, the father must hire someone to do so, and he is not required to arrange for this to take place at his mother’s home. The reports transmitted on this matter should be understood accordingly, if Allah wills.

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If we hold that custody is the custodian’s right, may the custodian surrender the child to whichever guardian he chooses? There is disagreement on this. One view is that the custodian may surrender the child to whichever guardian he chooses, even if someone else has a stronger claim to custody than that guardian. This is the apparent meaning of what is stated in al-Mudawwana, for it says that, if a woman reaches a settlement with her husband whereby the child is to remain with him, this is permissible and he has the stronger claim to the child. The apparent meaning includes cases where the child has a grandmother or maternal aunt, since no such qualification was stipulated.

Another view is that the custodian has no authority to do this. Custody is simply a right that he may either exercise or relinquish. If he relinquishes it, it passes to the person next entitled to it. This is comparable to those entitled to pre-emption: the person with the strongest claim may not surrender it to whomever he chooses. Rather, it is simply his right to exercise or relinquish; if he relinquishes it, it passes to the person next entitled to it.

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There is disagreement over when custody ends. One view is that it continues until puberty; another is that it continues until the change of teeth. The latter is narrated by Ibn Wahb from Mālik. Success comes from Allah alone.

من لبن يرضع به الصبي أعظم بركة عليه من لبن أمه. فمن علل ذلك بحقها في الحضانة يقول: إن الأب إن وجد من يرضعه له عند أمه باطلا لم يكن لها حجة. ومن علل بالعلة الأخرى فحجتها باقية. وروى ابن وهب عن مالك أن الأم إن لم ترد أن ترضعه باطلا أو بما وجد كان له أن يدفعه إلى من يرضعه باطلا أو بما وجد. ومعنى ذلك إذا أرضعته عند أمه ولم تخرجه من حضانتها. وهذا القول أشبه بظاهر قَوْله تَعَالَى: ﴿وَإِنْ تَعَاسَرْتُمْ فَسَتُرْضِعُ لَهُ أُخْرَى﴾ [الطلاق: ٦]، وأما إن أبت الأم أن ترضعه فيستأجر له الأب من يرضعه وليس عليه أن يكون في ذلك عند أمه. فعلى هذا تحمل الروايات الواردة في هذا إن شاء الله تعالى. فصل وإذا قلنا: إن الحضانة من حق الحاضن فهل يملك الحاضن إسلامه إلى من شاء من الأولياء أم لا؟ في ذلك اختلاف. قيل: إن للحاضن أن يسلم الولد إلى من شاء من الأولياء وإن كان غيره أحق به منه، وهو ظاهر ما في المدونة؛ لأنه قال: إن المرأة إذا صالحت زوجها على أن يكون الولد عنده جاز ذلك وكان أحق بالولد، فظاهره وإن كان له جدة أو خالة؛ إذ لم يشترط ذلك. وقيل: إنه لا يملك ذلك، وإنما هو حقه، فإن شاء أخذه وإن شاء تركه، فإن تركه كان لمن يجب له بعده، كشفعاء في الشفعة ليس لمن كان منهم أحق بها أن يسلمها لمن شاء، وإنما هو حقه إن شاء أخذه وإن شاء تركه، فإن تركه كان لمن يجب له بعده. فصل واختلف في حد الحضانة فقيل إلى البلوغ، وقيل إلى الإثغار، وهي رواية ابن وهب عن مالك، وبالله التوفيق.