with you and then seven with the others; or, if you wish, I will stay three nights with you and then resume the rotation.” She replied, “Stay three.”

The ḥadīth of Umm Salamah that ends with the word “Stay three” is agreed upon; it is recorded by Mālik, al-Bukhārī, and Muslim. The ḥadīth of Anas, on the other hand, is a Basran report transmitted by Abū Dāwūd. Consequently, the scholars of Madinah acted upon what had been transmitted by the scholars of Basra, while the scholars of Kūfah acted upon what had been transmitted by the scholars of Madinah.

Malik’s disciples disagreed over whether the Prophet’s staying seven nights with a virgin bride and three with a previously married one is obligatory or simply recommended. Ibn al-Qāsim declared it obligatory, whereas Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam deemed it recommended. The root of their disagreement lies in whether the Prophet’s—peace and blessings be upon him—practice should be interpreted as commendation or as binding obligation.

As for the husband’s rights over his wife concerning breast-feeding and household service, the jurists differ. Some obligate her to breast-feed in all circumstances; others do not oblige it at all; still others make it binding on a woman of humble status but not on a woman of rank—unless the child will accept no breast but hers. This last opinion is Mālik’s well-known view.

The cause of their dispute is whether the Qur’ānic verse on breast-feeding contains the ruling of obligation or merely issues a general command. Those who say it is only a command hold that the wife is not obliged to suckle, for the text supplies no evidence of compulsion. Those who maintain that the verse embodies both the command and the obligation—and that its purport is that of an imperative—insist that she must breast-feed. The view that distinguishes between women of low and high status bases the matter on prevailing custom and social convention.

A divorced woman is not required to breast-feed unless the infant will accept no breast but hers; in that case she must nurse, and the husband owes her payment for it. This is a point of consensus, grounded in the Almighty’s words:

“Yet if they nurse the child for you, give them their due payment.” (al-Ṭalāq 6)

The majority further hold that, upon divorce, custody of a small child belongs to the mother, in light of the Prophet’s saying, “Whoever separates a mother from her child, Allah will separate him from those he loves on the Day of Resurrection,” and because a slave-woman or captive is not separated from her child, so a free woman is even more entitled to that right.

They differ, however, once the child reaches the age of discernment. Some—among them al-Shāfiʿī—say the child is allowed to choose, citing a narration to that effect. Others maintain the original ruling, as the report is not sound in their estimation. The majority also rule that if the mother marries someone other than the father, her right to custody ends, based on the Prophet’s words, “You have the greatest right to him so long as you do not marry.” Those who do not deem this ḥadīth authentic adhere to the original rule. As for transferring custody from the mother to anyone other than the father, there is no reliable evidence on which to base such a ruling.