and close relatives, orphans, and the needy.”

And His words:

“That is the one who harshly repulses the orphan”

“and does not urge the feeding of the needy.”

He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked:

A man has a seven-year-old daughter whose mother is married. He has taken custody of his daughter under the noble Sharia, and she has no caregiver other than him. Her mother now wishes to take her from him and undertake her care for a specified period. However, he fears that she may subsequently claim reimbursement from him for clothing and maintenance according to some schools of jurisprudence. How should the agreement between them be worded?

The answer:

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds.

As long as the child remains with her and she supports her, having taken her on the condition that she will provide for her from her own resources without seeking reimbursement from the father, she has no claim to maintenance from him, by agreement of the imams. That is, she cannot recover from him what she has spent during this period. However, if she wishes to demand maintenance in the future, the father may take the child back from her. In these circumstances, and given what we have mentioned, she cannot both retain custody and demand maintenance from the father; there is no disagreement on this.

However, if they agree to this arrangement, is their agreement binding? There is disagreement on this, and the well-known position in Mālik’s school is that it is binding. That being so, undertaking this obligation entails no harm to the father. Allah knows best.