he loses his milk teeth.” However, the well-known position reported from him is that the mother has the greater right to him until he reaches puberty. This is also the third position reported from Ahmad.

As for the well-known position reported from Ahmad—that the boy is given a choice between his parents—this is the position of al-Shāfiʿī and Ishāq ibn Rāhawayh. Ahmad agreed with al-Shāfiʿī and Ishāq more often than with others, and his principles more closely resembled theirs than those of others. He praised them, held them in high esteem, and preferred the principles underlying their legal schools to those of scholars whose principles differed from theirs. He held that the principles of the hadith jurists were sounder than those of others, and he regarded al-Shāfiʿī and Ishāq as among the foremost hadith jurists of their time.

The two were brought together at al-Khayf Mosque, where they debated the question of renting out houses in Mecca. The account is well known. Ahmad mentioned that al-Shāfiʿī prevailed over Ishāq in argument on one point, while Ishāq prevailed over him on another. Al-Shāfiʿī permitted both their sale and their rental, whereas Ishāq prohibited both. The evidence supported al-Shāfiʿī regarding the permissibility of selling them, and Ishāq regarding the prohibition of renting them out.

The third position reported from Ahmad is that the mother has the greater right to the boy without qualification, as in Mālik’s school. This is inferred from his statement in Hanbal’s report concerning a man who divorces his wife and has young children by her:

“The mother is more tender towards them up to the age when they can understand discipline. She therefore has the greater right to them so long as she does not remarry. If she remarries, the father has the greater right to his child, whether a boy or a girl.”

Shaykh Abū al-Barakāt said: “This report indicates that when he grows older and becomes able to understand discipline